Anifowose Samson
A number of senior Arsenal stars remain missing as Mikel Arteta looks to find alternatives for the Premier League clash against West Ham...TAP HERE TO READ THE FULL STORY..>>
Arsenal know that a win over West Ham will put huge pressure on Liverpool in the Premier League title race.
The Gunners can cut the gap to five points if they beat the Hammers at Emirates Stadium on Saturday. Arne Slot’s side face Manchester City at Etihad Stadium on Sunday which means it could be a huge weekend in the race to lift the trophy come May.
Mikel Arteta, though, is not getting ahead of himself. “Well, we have to do our job. It’s going to be a tough one tomorrow against West Ham,” Arteta told reporters on Friday during his pre-match press conference.
“If we do that, obviously, we’ll be looking at that game on Sunday. It’s 13 games to go still. There’s still a lot, a lot, a lot to play. You can see how difficult it is for everybody to win football matches. We really need to be there.”
The Gunners will be without a number of senior players, however. Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli are continuing their recoveries from hamstring injuries, respectively, but it’s unclear at this stage when they will return. With Arsenal drawn against PSV in the Champions League round of 16 in March, Arteta was unsure if the duo would return in time for the clashes with the Dutch side.
“I’m not sure. That’s a question for the doctor,” Arteta said. “They’re both evolving really well. Probably Martinelli is a bit ahead of Bukayo as well for the extent of that injury. But then we’ll have to see the next step in the previous weeks before that, how the boys are feeling and what we are prepared to do.”
Gabriel Jesus and Takehiro Tomiyasu are out for the season after having to undergo knee surgery, while Kai Havertz will also not return until pre-season after undergoing surgery on his hamstring. That means, when looking at the official Arsenal website, the Gunners have 17 senior players available for selection for the game vs West Ham. As per Premier League rules, a club is allowed to name a squad of 20 players for a Premier League match.
Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly, who are classed as Arsenal Academy players on the Gunners official website, will be included in the squad as normal. There could also be another call-up for academy forward Nathan Butler-Oyedeji, who made the bench against Leicester last weekend.
Possible Arsenal squad for West Ham: Raya, Neto; Timber, White, Gabriel, Kiwior, Calafiori, Zinchenko, Saliba, Lewis-Skelly, Tierney; Rice, Jorginho, Partey, Merino, Odegaard, Nwaneri; Trossard, Sterling, Butler-Oyedeji
Senior players unavailable for West Ham: Tomiyasu (knee injury), Saka (hamstring injury), Jesus (knee injury), Havertz (hamstring injury), Martinelli (hamstring injury)-Read Full Details
