Soccer News Soccer Match Reports, Football News
We are in Champions League action this evening as we face Lens at home, seeking some revenge, if you can call it that, for the 2-1 defeat in France back in October.
In terms of team news, there’s not much to report. Ben White is available, according to Mikel Arteta, despite the fact he began yesterday’s training session away from the main group. The main news is that Fabio Vieira, who was suspended for the game against Brentford due to his red card against Burnley, has undergone surgery and will be out until the new year. Arteta said:
We’ve got a problem with him. He’s been having some discomfort. We sent him to see a specialist and the advice was to have an operation in his groin. He did that yesterday. We don’t expect him back this side of the winter break.
While he has been fairly peripheral this season, with Thomas Partey and Emile Smith Rowe still sidelined and a little way from making their comebacks, it’s not ideal. Midfield feels a bit light at the moment, so it’s something we could have done without. Tonight though, Arteta can stick with Leandro Trossard in there after he did fine against Brentford; he could move Declan Rice forward and play with Jorginho at the base of the midfield; or there’s the option to start Kai Havertz there, perhaps to try and make the most of the confidence boosting goal he got at the weekend.
What happens in midfield might have an impact on who plays up front. I was not expecting Gabriel Jesus to start against Brentford, so on the one hand that shows they didn’t feel it was a risk to do that. Nevertheless, after a month out, and with transatlantic travel in the mix too, is starting him for the third time in seven days sensible? The manager and the medical team will have more info than I do obviously, but I do wonder. If it’s Havertz in midfield, Trossard up top would be my preference, but there’s also Eddie Nketiah for the manager to choose from.
A win or a draw tonight would see us win the group, but…
Source link : https://arseblog.com/2023/11/lens-preview-a-chance-to-top-the-group/
Author : arseblog
Publish date : 2023-11-29 07:37:12
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