Having been held to a draw by Brighton & Hove Albion in their last outing, Arsenal are two points off the pace after champions Manchester City and Liverpool had perfect starts.
ARSENAL face a daunting set of fixtures starting with a trip to Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League, with influential midfielders sidelined this weekend, but Mikel Arteta’s side can take heart from their recent record in north London derbies.
Having been held to a draw by Brighton & Hove Albion in their last outing, Arsenal are two points off the pace after champions Manchester City and Liverpool had perfect starts.
Arsenal have been punished in the title race after letting points slip in the past two campaigns.
With City and Liverpool playing on Saturday, Arsenal could potentially be staring at a five-point gap ahead of Sunday’s short trip to face their neighbours.
Arsenal will wear their away kit in the derby for the first time in 38 years due to a colour clash, but two men who will not be wearing their black strip are skipper Martin Odegaard and midfield partner Declan Rice.
While Odegaard is out for several weeks nursing an ankle injury sustained in Norway’s Nations League victory against Austria in midweek, Rice is suspended after a controversial red card against Brighton for kicking the ball away.
Form usually goes out of the window in north London derbies, which often produce spicy encounters, but Arsenal have had the upper hand in the past two seasons, winning three and drawing one of the past four league matches against Spurs.
The hosts also have injury worries with forwards Richarlison and Dominic Solanke, plus defender Micky van de Ven, missing their 2-1 loss at Newcastle United, though the latter two are expected to return.
With Arsenal’s midweek Champions League game at Atalanta and a trip to City the following weekend, Arteta will be forced to rotate his squad or even change his formation.
Since new signing Mikel Merino is also injured, he may have to play the versatile Kai Havertz in a deeper role.
Brazil forward Gabriel Jesus has also been sidelined, while striker Eddie Nketiah moved to Crystal Palace on deadline day.
“He could play Leandro Trossard or even Raheem Sterling, but that’s a big ask for a winger to play up front at a new club,” Sky Sports pundit and former Arsenal forward Paul Merson said, adding the club should have signed another striker.
“You might get away with it for two or three games playing a false nine, but you wouldn’t want to go seven, eight, nine games with one.”
Meanwhile, Arteta has signed a contract extension with the Gunners, the Premier League club said on Thursday.
The Spaniard’s existing deal was set to expire at the end of the season and while the club did not disclose any details, British media said his new contract runs to 2027.
“I feel extremely proud, very excited and am looking forward to what is coming next,” Arteta said in a statement. I feel very inspired, I feel
challenged, I feel supported and I want to do much more than we’ve already done together.”
Former Arsenal midfielder Arteta took over in 2019 after a stint at Manchester City as an assistant coach to Pep Guardiola.
He has led Arsenal to an FA Cup success and two second-place finishes in the Premier League.
The weekend’s action kicks off with 14th-placed Manchester United
looking to put their early-season troubles behind them as they travel to promoted Southampton, who are without a point so far.
Erik ten Hag is in his third season as United boss, but a 3-0 humbling by Liverpool – whose manager Arne Slot was taking charge of just his third game – set alarm bells ringing among the Old Trafford faithful, although the Dutchman has the club’s backing.
Leaders City host sixth-placed Brentford, while second-placed Liverpool, the only Premier League team yet to concede a goal this season, welcome Nottingham Forest.
Ipswich Town travel to third-placed Brighton seeking a first win after their return to the top flight, while bottom side Everton, with three straight losses, travel to Aston Villa.
Reuters
Weekend Premier League Fixtures (SA Times)
Saturday – 1.30pm: Southampton vs Manchester United. 4pm: Liverpool vs Nottingham Forest, Manchester City vs Brentford, Fulham vs West Ham, Crystal Palace vs Leicester City, Brighton vs Ipswich Town. 6.30pm: Aston Villa vs Everton. 9pm: Bournemouth vs Chelsea
Sunday – 3pm: Tottenham vs Arsenal. 5.30pm: Wolves vs Newcastle
