Sterling & Nwaner start, 8 changes | Expected Arsenal line-up (4-2-3-1) vs Atalanta
Arsenal find themselves in something of an injury crisis. The Gunners were without Kieran Tierney, Martin Odegaard, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Mikel Merino and Riccardo Calafiori due to injury for Sunday’s North London Derby with Tottenham.
Miraculously, Mikel Arteta’s side were still able to find a way to win, much to the delight of the Spaniard. “We suffered because we had to adapt the plan because of the players that we had available,” he said after the match. “I loved it. The second we started to get that news, the team got hungrier and hungrier to play that game. It’s a big compliment to everybody at the club to behave in a certain way.
“It’s a tough week coming and instead of finding any excuses we did the opposite. We faced the challenge, played with courage and acknowledged the qualities we had to win the game.”
Despite the derby day victory, Arteta will know he has arguably even bigger tests coming up this week. Arsenal travel to Manchester City on Sunday in a game that will have a huge say in the Premier League title race. Prior to that they kick off their Champions League campaign with a trip to Europa League champions Atalanta.
The Gunners will be favourites to win, but after beating Liverpool and Xabi Alonso’s invincible Bayer Leverkusen side last season, they are not to be taken lightly. With so many players out, Arteta will be scratching his head to find a way to win this one
He will, at least, be bolstered by the return of Declan Rice. The England international was suspended for Sunday’s North London Derby win after his harsh red card in Arsenal’s draw with Brighton prior to the international break. This is likely to see the Gunners revert to their customary 4-3-3, rather than the 4-2-2-2 they played for large periods at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Odegaard unfortunately remains a massive doubt for the trip to Bergamo, despite Arteta’s protestations that the Norwegian will be assessed in the build up. Sources close to Calafiori have expressed their hope that he could be back soon after picking up a calf injury on international duty with injury.
Zinchenko missed the win over Spurs with a calf injury of his own, while Tierney, Tomiyasu and Merino are all long term absentees who will definitely be out of both the trips to Atalanta and City. Bukayo Saka also came off during the latter stages of Sunday’s win, and will be assessed in the build up to the trip to Italy.
