Mikel Arteta to five Arsenal changes vs Chelsea as £50m star returns

Arsenal host Chelsea in the second leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final on Tuesday night.

The Gunners returned to winning ways in the Premier League after a 4-0 victory over Leeds United at Elland Road.

The club increased their advantage at the top of the table in the process after Manchester City and Aston Villa dropped points.

Mikel Arteta’s side have a six-point lead at the top of the table with another 14 league games remaining.

Arsenal’s immediate focus will turn to the second leg of the League Cup semi-final against Chelsea tomorrow. They have a 3-2 lead after the first leg.

Ahead of the game, Arteta could contemplate five changes from the 4-0 rout of Leeds on the road.

Goalkeeper switch

Kepa Arrizabalaga has been the Gunners’ preferred choice in goal for the Carabao Cup and FA Cup this campaign.

The Spaniard could have done better to avoid both goals conceded against the Blues at Stamford Bridge last month.

Despite this, he is likely to get the nod over David Raya between the sticks against his former employers on Tuesday night.

Two changes in defence

Arteta could look to rotate his full-back positions for the London derby. Ben White could come in for Jurrien Timber at right-back. The £50 million signing opened the scoring from a corner in the first leg of the League Cup semi-final.

Riccardo Calafiori could make his second start of the year after his muscle injury. He could come in for Piero Hincapie at left-back. Myles Lewis-Skelly could make an appearance off the bench after being left out of the squad last weekend.

Martin Odegaard returns

Kai Havertz has started in the attacking midfield role over the last two matches. He scored and assisted in his 45-minute appearance against Kairat Almaty. The Germany international got the nod again over Martin Odegaard against Leeds and was substituted at the hour mark.

It is unlikely that Havertz will start three games on the bounce after his return from a lengthy knee injury. Arteta has talked about maintaining Havertz’s workload going forward and choosing games where he could start. Hence, Odegaard is a frontrunner to make the XI.

Odegaard has a terrific record against Chelsea with seven goal contributions in just 10 matches.

Gabriel Martinelli starts

In the final third, we anticipate one change with Gabriel Martinelli coming in for Leandro Trossard, who has looked far from his best in recent outings. Martinelli scored in the Champions League victory over Kairat and made a superb contribution on Saturday against the Whites.

The Brazil international delivered a peach of a cross with his left foot for Viktor Gyokeres’ goal. The 24-year-old deserves to make the starting XI ahead of Trossard on the left wing against the Blues. He has scored twice in his career against the west London outfit.

Stats from Transfermarkt.com

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