Arteta makes 4 big changes | Predicted Arsenal XI vs Everton with £15m ace poised to start

Arsenal return to Premier League action against Everton at the Emirates Stadium this evening.

The Gunners are top of the standings with a seven-point lead over Manchester City, but the Cityzens still have a match in hand.

They can temporarily extend the gap to 10 points with a victory, given Pep Guardiola’s side face West Ham in the later kick-off.

Ahead of the game, manager Mikel Arteta has revealed that Leandro Trossard and Martin Odegaard could undergo late fitness tests.

We anticipate at least four changes to the starting XI.

Formation: 4-2-3-1

Predicted Line-up:

David Raya has been ever-present in the Premier League campaign, keeping 14 clean sheets. The Spaniard will be eyeing another shutout against the Toffees this evening.

The defence could witness one change from the 1-1 draw against Bayer Leverkusen in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 at the BayArena. Piero Hincapie could be replaced by Riccardo Calafiori.

The former Bologna man has not started a league match since early February, when the Gunners beat Sunderland 3-0. Hincapie has had the highest workload in Arsenal’s defence in recent weeks and could be given a breather.

The rest of the backline should stay unchanged. Jurrien Timber looks poised to continue at right-back. William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes should be nailed-on starters for the London giants in the heart of the defence today.

Martin Zubimendi was far from his best in midweek. He lost possession on 11 occasions and may need to be rested ahead of a big home game against Leverkusen next week. It could be an ideal time for Christian Norgaard to make the XI.

The Dane has managed less than 60 minutes of normal time in the league since he arrived from Brentford last summer. The £15 million signing could make his full league debut for the Gunners against David Moyes’ side, in our opinion.

Norgaard could start as the holding midfielder with Declan Rice in a central midfield role. Eberechi Eze did not make much of an impact in midweek, and Arteta could contemplate a change. Kai Havertz could feature in the attacking midfield role. He scored the equaliser from the penalty spot against Leverkusen in midweek.

The fourth change could come on the right wing. Bukayo Saka could be rested. The Englishman was largely man-marked out of the game in midweek. Noni Madueke was much better off the bench, winning a late penalty in the 1-1 draw at Leverkusen.

The ex-Chelsea man completed 95 percent of his passes and won 100 percent of his duels and dribbles. The 24-year-old could be rewarded for his fine cameo with a starting role against the Toffees for the second time this campaign.

The rest of the attack should stay the same. Gabriel Martinelli is likely to continue on the left wing as Trossard remains doubtful. Viktor Gyokeres is Arsenal’s best striking option if Kai Havertz operates from the number 10 position, in our view.

The Swede has 10 goal contributions since the turn of the year and will be aiming to end a three-match goalless streak. He netted the only goal from the penalty spot when the Gunners met the Toffees at the Hill Dickinson Stadium in December.

How Arsenal could line up vs Everton

Stats from Transfermarkt.com & Sofascore.com

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