Mikel Arteta has made three changes to his side for this afternoon’s Premier League clash with Aston Villa, with Bukayo Saka, Ebere Eze and Jurrien Timber returning to our line-up.
The trio were rested for Wednesday’s 2-0 win against Brentford but all return for our game at Villa Park, replacing Noni Madueke, Gabriel Martinelli and Cristhian Mosquera.
The latter misses out on the matchday squad with an ankle injury sustained in midweek, with Jurrien set to deputise at centre-back once again with William Saliba still not fit enough to return.
One player who is back is Leandro Trossard, who is named on our bench after missing the last two matches with a knock, as is 16-year-old centre-back Marli Salmon, who is included in a first-team matchday squad for the first time, having also played on our pre-season tour of Asia.
Declan Rice is fit to start after coming off against Brentford, while Martin Odegaard and Ben White once again are selected from the off.
Gabriel Jesus and Max Dowman have travelled with the under-21s for a behind-closed-doors friendly against Manchester United at St George’s Park as they look to build up their match fitness.
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How to watch Aston Villa v Arsenal on TV
Our opponents meanwhile have been boosted by the return of Emiliano Martinez, who missed their 4-3 win against Brighton & Hove Albion on Wednesday when he was forced to pull out during the warm-up with back issues, but he is fit to feature again.
The ex-Gunner is one of two changes from the side that won at the Amex Stadium three days ago, with the other seeing Youri Tielemans come in for Evann Guessand.
LINE-UPs
Aston Villa: Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Torres, Maatsen, Kamara, Onana, Tielemans, McGinn, Rogers, Watkins.
Subs: Bizot, Garcia, Digne, Lindelof, Bogarde, Hemmings, Buendia, Sancho, Malen.
Arsenal: Raya, White, Timber, Hincapie, Calafiori, Zubimendi, Rice, Odegaard, Saka, Eze, Merino.
Subs: Arrizabalaga, Lewis-Skelly, Salmon, Norgaard, Nwaneri, Trossard, Martinelli, Madueke, Gyokeres.
Get yourself prepared for the game with our match preview, containing the need-to-know stats, TV listings, a guide to Villa’s potential tactics and much more.
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Preview: Aston Villa v Arsenal
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