Arsenal arrives at 2025 second in the Premier League and unbeaten in 11 games, but the atmosphere in north London does not exactly paint the most optimistic picture.
Much of that has to do with Bukayo Saka’s recent injury, which will keep him sidelined for at least a couple of months. Life without their superstar winger began with a 1-0 win against Ipswich City on Friday night, a performance that summed up the latest version of Mikel Arteta’s side: robust and controlled, but devoid of a ruthless edge.
This will be a tough slog for the title contenders, but they are a good enough team even without Saka to stay in contention. Surely Liverpool are in for trouble, right?
However, their margin for error is very small and only three points will be enough when they travel to Brentford on New Year’s Day. This is how the Gunners could line up at Gtech.
Goalkeeper: David Raya – Raya was ineligible to face the Bees last season after joining the Gunners on an initial loan, but the Spaniard is available to face his former club after completing a permanent transfer in the summer.
RB: Jurrien Madera – There has been a lot of Timber over the last month as a result of the Arsenal full-back’s injuries. He is a very good footballer, but there is a risk of becoming exhausted.
CB: William Saliba – Saliba has a big role to play in preventing the speedy Bees on Wednesday. Ipswich allowed the Frenchman to complete passes at will on Friday, and there is scope for the defender to rack up another monster haul on New Year’s Day.
CB: Gabriel- Set pieces have been key to Arsenal’s success this season and they will need Gabriel to continue dominating the opposition area while Saka is out. He missed a great opportunity on Friday night.
LI: Myles Lewis-Skelly – Riccardo Calafiori will surely play a role, but Lewis-Skelly does not deserve to be ruled out. He seems totally calm since he joined the senior group.
CM: Declan Arroz – Arteta recently spoke about Rice’s midfield role being dependent on the opposition. With Arsenal likely to dominate territorially and Brentford having a clear counter-attacking threat, it makes sense for Rice to start again at the base of midfield over Thomas Partey.
CM: Mikel Merino- The Gunners need bodies in the box on Wednesday and Merino’s drop could be good for them. The midfielder’s career is yet to take off in north London.
CM: Martín Odegaard – The pattern is starting to have more success as a metronome, and we should expect to see it fall deeper and deeper in an attempt to dictate procedure. However, Arsenal will also need his ability to pick locks in the final third.
Or: Gabriel Martinelli – Arteta will not abandon Martinelli’s right-wing experiment after just one outing. The Brazilian should try again despite Friday night’s problems.
ST: Kai Havertz – The German put in his best performance in a long time against Ipswich, but could return to his centre-forward role here. Havertz scored a pair of late goals against Brentford last season.
LB: Gabriel Jesús – Jesús will remain in the team and will operate fluidly on the left. He will rotate freely and have plenty of opportunities to occupy the area. His mini scoring streak came to an end last time.
