(4-4-2) Merino and Timber position changed”, Predicted Arsenal line up vs Fulham – As Mikel Arteta introduced Three fresh legs to the starting XI
Arsenal host Fulham at the Emirates in the Premier League on Tuesday night.
The Gunners will be looking to tighten their grip on second place, and make sure Liverpool don’t run away with the title too early in the season.
The Mersysiders sit 12 points ahead of Mikel Arteta’s men, with nine games left to play.
Arsenal had 14 players on international duty, although they’ve had almost a week back at London Colney to prepare for the clash with the Cottagers, and thus, Arteta’s squad should be well rested and raring to go.
Predicted Arsenal lineup vs Fulham
Bukayo Saka returned to training last week and is expected to be in contention to feature in some capacity against Fulham.
The Englishman’s potential availability will be the big talking point, although it’s likely that Arteta won’t rush him back and could revert to using Ethan Nwaneri on the right and Gabriel Martinelli on the left.
Leandro Trossard started both games for Belgium over the international break, while Nwaneri was relatively unused by the England under-21s and Martinelli was resting at London Colney.
Arteta has evidently settled on Mikel Merino as his striker, so he can be expected to start down the middle once again.
At the back end of the pitch, David Raya, Jurrien Timber, William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes pick themselves.
At left-back, Riccardo Calafiori is expected to be absent after sustaining an injury on international duty, meaning Myles Lewis-Skelly will likely retain his place.
In midfield, Declan Rice, Thomas Partey and Martin Odegaard will likely be deployed alongside each other in what has been Arteta’s go-to trio this campaign.
The Spanish manager will be keen on selecting a relatively consistent team for the rest of the season, to build chemistry and understanding ahead of the Real Madrid encounters in the Champions League.
Predicted Arsenal lineup vs Fulham: Raya, Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly, Partey, Rice, Odegaard, Nwaneri, Merino, Martinelli.
Bukayo Saka should get some minutes off the bench against Fulham
All the talk is about how Arteta can reintegrate Saka back into the Arsenal team, and it would certainly be a surprise to see him straight back into the starting eleven in this game.
He’s been sidelined for three months with a hamstring injury, so a week in training is probably not sufficient for him to be ready to feature in the league from the start.
However, it’s of paramount importance that he gets some minutes ahead of Real Madrid, where Arteta will look to start him.
A short cameo off the bench against Fulham would be ideal, followed by an extended cameo against Everton.
These two appearances should get him some much-needed match experience and fitness for the Champions League showdown.
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