Arsenal welcome Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League on Tuesday and here is the match preview, team news and predicted lineup.
After saying adieu to their unbeaten start to the season on Saturday at Bournemouth. They are hoping that the ill fate wouldn’t replicate in Europe on Tuesday. With only three days of rest in between, they have to recover from their 2-0 loss and regain their belief by taking maximum points against Shakhtar. That would exactly be the plan for Gunners and Arteta. This would be one of the easiest fixtures on the list and that too at home, so nothing less than a victory would satisfy Arsenal.
ARSENAL VS SHAKHTAR DONETSK PREVIEW
Arsenal couldn’t keep out a red card from their books as they received their third dismissal in the Premier League this season and we are yet to reach matchday 10. A moment of carelessness from Leandro Trossard saw William Saliba left on the wrong foot against Bournemouth striker Evanilson. The French man went on to commit a last man foul which led to his dismissal in the 30th minute of the match. Arsenal were reduced to 10 men and the game was turned on its head by the home side.
Later, two goals in the second half from Ryan Christie and Justin Kluivert meant the unbeaten run was over for the Gunners. They also squandered a chance to temporarily go on top of the table. The fact that 3 out of 4 matches in which they dropped points this season was when they received a red card asserts that they can’t afford picking up more dismissals.
Anyway they are in desperate need of a victory to bring back the belief before they face league leaders Liverpool next Sunday. Like a prince who has to undergo tests to become a king, this tricky situation would be a test of their will in their quest to become Champions. Shakhtar are one of the few sides yet to win the Champions League. So they would like to come back from North London with a strong performance.
TEAM NEWS
As of the team news according to the official Arsenal website, Japanese international Takehiro Tomiyasu and Scotishman Kieran Tierney are the complete absentees. They are totally unavailable for the fixture. Despite starting training with the first team Tomiyasu is yet to feature for Arsenal this season.
Dutch man Jurien Timber was suffering from a muscle injury after sustaining the injury against PSG. He is yet to train with the first team and likely to be absent for the midweek fixture. Mikel Arteta said this about Timber: “He’s going to be close. We have to see how he deals with training with the whole group. It was a muscular injury.” An optimistic view from the manager.
Arteta also provided a telling update about Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard injuries as well. Saka was nursing a minor hamstring injury suffered just before the International break. The winger also failed to feature against Bournemouth on saturday. Arteta said this about the availability of both of these players:
“They are closer and both are progressing really well. Martin is still not fit. With Bukayo, let’s see how he feels today and in the training session we have later on.”
Meanwhile Goalkeeper Tymur Puzankov, who has an ACL injury, is the only absentee for the visitors.
POTENTIAL ARSENAL LINEUP
In a bid to get some confidence back and Saliba’s suspension doesn’t count in European competitions means that Arteta might go with only a minor change in defence. Raya would start on goal with four at the back. The fact that they have to face league leaders Liverpool on Sunday might induce the Arsenal boss to bring in a few changes in midfield and attack.
David Raya; Oleksander Zinchenko, Gabriel Magalhaes, William Saliba, Ben White; Jorginho, Declan Rice; Gabriel Martinelli, Kai Havertz, Raheem Sterling; Gabriel Jesus
Teenager Ethan Nwaneri might get a few minutes at some point in the match.
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