After the first international break of the new season, Arsenal will return to Premier League action this afternoon (Sunday) as they travel to Merseyside to take on Everton.
Arsenal resumes Premier League play this weekend after the international break. In order to put a halt to his team’s rather dismal recent run of performances at Goodison Park, Mikel Arteta must make some difficult choices.
Fortunately for the Arsenal boss, it might be said that his duty has been a little bit simpler following the last transfer announcement about the summer transfer window, as Nicolas Pepe became the latest senior player to depart when his trade to Turkish team Trabzonspor was revealed last week.
You have an emotional bond with them and have worked to bring out the best in them, yet there are instances when you can adore the player even when another player who plays in this position also performs admirably. There are a lot of things involved, but we do wish them the best and hope they can pursue their goals somewhere else.
It would have been a major surprise if Pepe had played at Goodison Park if he was still at the club and eligible for selection, given that he did not play at all for Arsenal during the preseason and that Arteta made selections for the first four Premier League games.
The players Arteta must leave in London when selecting a 20-man team for the journey to Merseyside do decrease as a result of his departure, though. In fact, the Gunners could duplicate what he did against Manchester United if all 16 stars come back uninjured from international service.
According to the club’s official website, the north London squad has 25 senior players listed. If no further injury concerns arise between now and 3.30pm later this afternoon (Sunday), up to five first-team stars will have to watch their teammates’ matches from home.
Now, as Jurrien Timber is a long-term absentee after sustaining an ACL injury on his Premier League debut last month, he is confirmed to be unavailable for selection. Thomas Partey falls into this category too with Arteta confirming the midfielder is still “a few weeks away” from returning from a muscle problem.
Karl Hein is probably the third senior Arsenal player who did not make the matchday squad, with Mohamed Elneny making it four as the game is too soon for him to be eligible, assuming Aaron Ramsdale and David Raya are the goalkeeping choices against Everton.
It would be surprising if Cedric Soares played at Goodison Park despite being nominated to the Gunners’ 25-man Premier League and Champions League squads this week, especially with Ben White, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Oleksandr Zinchenko, and Jakub Kiwior all in contention.
After a six-year absence, Arsenal has rejoined the Champions League, and Mikel Arteta’s team has high hopes of reaching the Wembley final.
