Arsenal faces Aston Villa today with key player updates and lineup predictions
London: So, Arsenal’s gearing up to take on Aston Villa today, and there’s a lot of buzz about William Saliba. He’s a big deal in defense, you know?
But here’s the scoop: Riccardo Calafiori might not play again. Poor guy has been out for three games with an injury. Mikel Arteta, the manager, mentioned they’re still checking on a few players’ fitness.
Arteta said they’ll make some decisions this afternoon with the medical team. It’s all about figuring out who’s fit enough to play today or if they should wait for the next match.
If Calafiori can’t go, young Myles Lewis-Skelly might get another shot at left-back. He’s only 18 but has been doing great lately, especially in that thrilling 2-1 win against Tottenham.
With a busy January ahead, Arsenal might shake things up a bit for Villa’s visit. Raheem Sterling started against Spurs, but he could be swapped out for Gabriel Martinelli on the right wing.
Right now, Arsenal’s a bit short on attackers. They’ve only got four forwards available since Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus, and Ethan Nwaneri are all out injured.
Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu are also sidelined. And there’s been some chatter online about Saliba possibly being a doubt for today’s game, but Arteta didn’t mention him in the pre-match presser.
As for the predicted lineup, it looks like this: Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly; Odegaard, Partey, Rice; Martinelli, Havertz, Trossard.
Calafiori is the only one in doubt, while Jesus, Nwaneri, Saka, Tomiyasu, and White are all injured.
Kick-off is at 5:30 PM GMT today, and you can catch it on Sky Sports. The match will be held at the Emirates Stadium, with Chris Kavanagh as the referee.
Arsenal’s squad includes Neto, Raya, Setford, Calafiori, Gabriel, Heaven, Kiwior, Lewis-Skelly, Saliba, Tierney, Timber, Zinchenko, Jorginho, Merino, Odegaard, Partey, Rice, Havertz, Martinelli, Sterling, and Trossard.
