Mikel Arteta has some huge selections to make when Arsenal take on Tottenham in the north London derby this afternoon.
Declan Rice misses out after his red card against Brighton and Arteta’s problems only got worse during the international break.
New signing Mikel Merino is also unavailable after the Spain international injured in his very first training session with the club after a collision with Gabriel Magalhaes.
Merino has suffered a fractured shoulder with Arsenal expecting him to be unavailable until after the next international break in mid-October.
There was more misery for Arsenal with club captain Odegaard forced off during Norway’s clash with Austria on Monday night.
Early indications were the skipper has suffered a sprained ankle after leaving the pitch in agony. While reports have suggested Odegaard is facing three weeks out, Arteta refused to rule the midfielder out of this afternoon’s showdown at the Totttenham Hotspur Stadium.
It leaves the Arsenal manager with the midfield options of Thomas Partey and Jorginho. With numbers desperately short, Arteta may consider dropping Kai Havertz back into a midfield role, moving Jurrien Timber further up the pitch, or even hand a role to 17-year-old Ethan Nwaneri.
Raheem Sterling is pushing to make his debut with a week of training with his new side under his belt. Gabriel Martinelli has struggled to make an impact so far this season with Leandro Trossard’s best work to date coming off the bench.
Calafiori was injured while on international duty (Picture: Jonathan Moscrop/Getty Images)
Arteta has been eager for his deadline day signing to get involved ‘as soon as possible’ and will hope he can have some role to play this weekend.
Arsenal have been without injured duo Takehiro Tomiyasu and Kieran Tierney for the start of the season with Gabriel Jesus joining the absentee list, missing the games against Aston Villa and Brighton with a groin injury.
There was good news on Jesus on Friday with Arteta confirming the forward is back in training and ‘if everything goes well, will be in the squad today.
The Gunners boss was also left sweating during the international break with Riccardo Calafiori involved in a nasty collision with France’s Ousmane Dembele on Friday.
The Italy international was being assessed over the weekend but is in contention to make the squad today.
How Arsenal could line up on Sunday.
Tottenham meanwhile received a double boost this week with both Micky van de Ven and Dominic Solanke available today.
The Netherlands international started the first two games of the season but missed the defeat at Newcastle United after being deemed ‘not quite 100 per cent’ by Ange Postecoglou, missing Nations League games as a result.
The Spurs boss insisted the knock was ‘nothing serious’, a precautionary measure perhaps given the packed fixture list over the next few weeks.
Solanke suffered an ankle injury on his debut against Leicester City has seen him miss the last two games. Poestecoglou however did suggest his £65million signing was close to being fit for the Newcastle game and will have a role to play this afternoon.
There was concern for Yves Bissouma after he picked up a knock playing for Mali during the international break but Ange Postecoglou hopeful he can recover in time.
‘We had the last of the boys in late yesterday so we’ll have a look at them today and everyone’s reporting all well except for Biss,’ the Spurs boss said on Friday.
‘He’s got a bit of an issue, but we’ll have a look at him over the next couple of days and see how it settles.’
Richarlison meanwhile remains sidelined.
How Tottenham could line up on Sunday.
Predicted Tottenham XI to face Arsenal
Vicario, Porro, Romero, van de Ven, Udogie, Sarr, Bentancur, Maddison, Kulusevski, Solanke, Son
Predicted Arsenal XI to face Tottenham
Raya, White, Saliba, Gabriel. Timber, Jorginho, Partey, Havertz, Saka, Trossard, Sterling
Where to watch Man Utd vs Liverpool? Kick-off time and TV channel
Tottenham vs Arsenal kicks off at 2pm on Sunday 15 September.
Live coverage is available on Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Main Event, with a live stream available on Sky Go.
