Arsenal is likely going to miss out on four of their key players as they face Brentford on Sunday afternoon in the Premier League away from home....CONTINUE READING
Going by the club’s official website, Arsenal has 24 senior players listed, which means regardless of the injury situation, Arteta was always going to have to make a decision on which four first-team stars would be cheering on their teammates from home.
But with Mohamed Elneny a long-term absentee, Emile Smith Rowe ruled out with a groin injury, and the game coming too soon for Reiss Nelson and Cedric Soares, the decision on who to leave out of the matchday squad against Brentford has already been made for Arteta.
The decision to let go of Nicolas Pepe, Hector Bellerin, and Ainsley Maitland-Niles following a busy final month in the summer transfer window could come back to haunt Arteta and technical director Edu in the next month or so.
The Arsenal squad is now a little light in some areas, and the manager’s options might be stretched even further against Brentford with Oleksandr Zinchenko emerging as an injury doubt.
However, the good news is that Thomas Partey was in full training on Friday and Ben White is fit amid fears he wasn’t named in the England Nations League squad Gareth Southgate because of a hip/knee injury complaint, so the pair should be in contention to face the Bees.
As a result, the Ghana international’s potential return will reduce the number of players Arteta must leave behind when naming a 20-man squad for a short trip to West London.
In fact, if he is available for selection, it means one player who was involved against Manchester United a fortnight ago may have to make way for the defensive midfielder.
