Arteta makes 1 big change | Predicted Arsenal XI vs Chelsea as £30m star returns, Havertz in squad

Arsenal welcome Chelsea to the Emirates Stadium for today’s much-awaited Premier League clash.

The Gunners are presently two points ahead of Manchester City at the top of the standings after the latter’s 1-0 win over Leeds United on the road yesterday.

They will aim to extend the gap when they entertain the Blues. Arsenal are unbeaten in the last 10 meetings but could face a sterner challenge later today.

Ahead of the London derby, we anticipate manager Mikel Arteta to make one change to the starting XI from the 4-1 rout of Tottenham Hotspur away from home.

Formation: 4-3-3

Predicted Line-up:

David Raya has been an undisputed starter for Arsenal in the Premier League and Champions League matches. He has kept 13 clean sheets in the top-flight campaign. The Spaniard will be eyeing his first shutout in four league games.

In front of him, it should be an unchanged back four. Jurrien Timber has been Arteta’s go-to choice at right-back, and he provided a fabulous assist for Viktor Gyokeres’ early second-half strike in the north London derby last weekend.

William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes are assured starters in the heart of the defence. Similarly, Piero Hincapie looks undroppable at left-back at the moment. He scored at Wolverhampton Wanderers recently and starred against Spurs too.

The Ecuadorian was described as ‘extremely dominant’ by Arteta in the pre-match presser. He has been superb with his duel-winning ability and tackles, and should continue at left-back ahead of Riccardo Calafiori and Myles Lewis-Skelly once more.

Martin Zubimendi and Declan Rice are certain to feature in the centre of the park, but there could be a positional change for Eberechi Eze. We anticipate Eze to move to the left side of the Gunners’ attack as Martin Odegaard could be reinstated in the XI.

Odegaard has six goal contributions in his last nine league matches and has starred against Chelsea in the past with seven goal involvements in 10 outings. The £30m signing is superb at leading the high press and could be key to unsettling Chelsea’s backline, which won’t have the services of Marc Cucurella (injured) and Wesley Fofana (suspended) today.

Eze is unlikely to be dropped from the XI after his first goals since November in the north London derby. The 27-year-old proved his credentials with a goal in either half and could slot on the left wing against Chelsea with Leandro Trossard dropping out.

The rest of the attack should stay unchanged. Bukayo Saka should continue on the right wing ahead of Noni Madueke. The Englishman has a goal and an assist in his last two league matches.

Viktor Gyokeres is currently the in-form striker in the league, in our view. He has eight goals and two assists since the New Year, including two goal contributions against Chelsea last month.

The Swede is expected to lead the attack against Liam Rosenior’s side once more.

Kai Havertz has been included in the provisional Arsenal squad for the derby after his return from a hamstring injury. The German could come off the bench if the manager requires him.

How Arsenal could line up vs Chelsea

Stats from Transfermarkt.com

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