"Incredible" Arsenal star poised to start vs Chelsea after Mikel Arteta update

Arsenal take on rivals Chelsea in Sunday’s much-awaited Premier League game at Stamford Bridge.

The Gunners are presently four points ahead of second-placed Manchester City in the table, and can increase their advantage with a positive result versus the Blues.

Ahead of the London derby, manager Mikel Arteta has dropped a big hint that Mikel Merino will start as the makeshift striker for the fourth-straight game this campaign.

Viktor Gyokeres (muscle) and Havertz (knee) have made good progress from their injuries, but Arteta said on Friday that the attacking duo are ‘not yet’ ready at the moment.

The Spanish tactician added that Gabriel Jesus may need to be handled with extra caution, considering he has been on the sidelines for 11 months without competitive action.

There is still an outside possibility that they could make the bench, but it looks pretty much certain that Merino will continue as the makeshift number nine again.

The 29-year-old may not be everyone’s favourite as a striker, but he has stepped up for the club’s cause, bagging nine goals and four assists from 20 appearances in the role this year.

Arteta has personally described Merino as ‘incredible‘ on many occasions. The former Real Sociedad man has only three goals this campaign, but he remains a menace from set-pieces.

The midfielder has the ability to perfectly time his runs into potential scoring positions, and he could be influential from dead-ball situations on Sunday in the ongoing injury absence of Gabriel Magalhaes.

Merino scored the winner from a corner when Arsenal hosted Chelsea earlier this year. The club have scored plenty of open-play goals lately, but set-pieces could be key in a tightly fought contest.

Stats from Transfermarkt.com

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