Mikel Arteta to make three Arsenal changes vs Chelsea as £44m "warrior" returns

Arsenal travel to Stamford Bridge for Sunday’s Premier League clash against Chelsea.

The Gunners have had a fabulous league campaign. They have picked up 29 points from their opening 12 games, six more than second-placed Chelsea.

Mikel Arteta’s side are unbeaten in the last seven meetings against the Blues, with five wins and two draws, and will surely aim for another victory.

Ahead of the London derby, Arteta could make three changes from the 3-1 Champions League win over Bayern Munich at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday.

Piero Hincapie for Cristhian Mosquera in central defence

Hincapie made his full Premier League debut against Tottenham Hotspur last weekend. He was flawless in the heart of the defence as the Gunners sealed a convincing 4-1 victory at home.

Despite this, the Ecuadorian was left on the bench against Bayern last night. Cristhian Mosquera partnered William Saliba in central defence, with Gabriel Magalhaes still injured.

We expect rotation once more. Hincapie should start as the left-sided centre-back. He is more suited for the London derby, with his stronger aerial presence compared to Mosquera.

Hincapie has been described as a ‘warrior‘ by Arteta. The £44 million-rated star looks poised to make his second consecutive league start for Arsenal in Sunday’s derby at Chelsea.

Riccardo Calafiori starts over Myles Lewis-Skelly at left-back

Myles Lewis-Skelly expectedly got the nod over Riccardo Calafiori at left-back against Bayern.

However, the club graduate had a difficult outing overall. He struggled to cope with Michael Olise’s movement on occasions and should have done better to prevent the goal conceded.

Joshua Kimmich delivered a precise long ball to Serge Gnabry, who put the ball on the plate for Lennart Karl to score. Lewis-Skelly could have been more proactive in intercepting the delivery to Gnabry.

Calafiori replaced him in the 68th minute. The Italian made an immediate impact, providing an assist for Noni Madueke’s goal. He had more passes than Lewis-Skelly despite being a substitute (8 to 7).

Calafiori has started every league game this campaign. He is expected to be reinstated at left-back.

Gabriel Martinelli replaces injured Leandro Trossard on the left wing

Leandro Trossard has been phenomenal for the Gunners this campaign. The Belgian has made 10 goal contributions thus far and has been a consistent starter on the left wing.

However, the 30-year-old looks set to miss out on Sunday’s derby after picking up an injury, which forced an early first-half substitution. He may not make the matchday squad.

Noni Madueke replaced the experienced ace in the 38th minute and made his mark with a maiden club goal to put the Gunners ahead. Still, we see Martinelli starting over him on the left wing.

Madueke is a specialist right winger and only scored after a change in position yesterday. He initially featured on the left wing but moved to the right after Martinelli replaced Bukayo Saka.

Martinelli continued his bright Champions League form with a fourth goal in as many European games. It was a lively cameo off the bench, and he should get the nod to start on the left side of attack.

The Brazilian star has scored only two goals against the Blues, but both have come at Stamford Bridge. He opened the scoring at the stadium last season before Pedro Neto equalised (1-1 draw).

In our view, Arteta looks set to make at least three changes for the derby at Chelsea.

Stats from Transfermarkt.com & Sofascore.com

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