Strong Arsenal line‑up for Villa clash amid major defensive absences. Tight muscle for Rice?

 By Danong

Saturday afternoon sees Arsenal make the trip to Villa Park, where they will lock horns with an in‑form Aston Villa side.  

After a shaky start to the campaign, Villa has rediscovered its rhythm. Having shaken off their early struggles, they have climbed to third in the league table, and that rise is no fluke. They are currently riding a six‑match winning streak in all competitions and have suffered defeat only twice in their last 15 outings.  

Villa, certainly, present a tricky challenge, and Arsenal will be well aware of it. The Gunners have only managed one victory in their last four meetings with Unai Emery’s men, a record that underlines the difficulty of the task ahead.  

Nevertheless, Arsenal, buoyed by their near‑perfect start to the season, losing just once in the league while leading the title charge, will feel it is high time to put Emery’s side back in their place.  

Heading into this clash, however, one concern for Mikel Arteta is the defensive crisis he faces. Gabriel Magalhaes and Cristhian Mosquera are ofcourse out and its touch and go if William Saliba will make it, leaving the manager with a significant headache.  

Arteta will need to preserve Arsenal’s defensive solidity without them. Jurrien Timber impressed when coming on against Brentford to play in central defence, while Ben White delivered a solid performance at right‑back. 

It is therefore likely that both will be retained in those positions, forming part of a line‑up that could look like this:  

Raya  

White, Timber, Hincapié, Calafiori  

Zubimendi, Rice, Eze  

Saka, Gyokeres, Martinelli  

Yes Rice is included in the 11 as it seems from his comment to the Sky Sports journalist that he is 'fine' that he will be able to play today.

After all when he was being attended by the physio during the Brentford game he was pointing not directly on his calf but the back of his leg. This indicates that it might be just a tight muscle.

Some argue that Mikel Merino and Martin Odegaard deserve to start. Yet Odegaard, only just back from injury, must have his minutes carefully managed. As for Merino, the feeling is that Gyokeres deserves to be back in the fold.  

That said, if everything clicks, this line‑up should possess enough quality to nick a win over Villa and, in doing so, demonstrate who the genuine title contenders are and who are merely pretenders.