On Saturday, Arsenal will kick off their Premier League campaign against Wolves, with Mikel Arteta’s team hoping to get off to a strong start in the race for the championship. The Gunners are in good form following a successful preseason that included convincing wins over Lyon and Bayer Leverkusen, despite some persistent injury concerns.
In addition to missing the last preseason games because of a foot injury, Jurrien Timber missed the majority of his first season at Arsenal because of an anterior cruciate ligament injury. Timber was supposed to return to the training field this week, but it’s unclear if he’ll be available for the Wolves game.
Furthermore, Takehiro Tomiyasu, who was sidelined by a knee injury during the US preseason tour, won’t be back for a few weeks, according to Arteta.
Riccardo Calafiori, the summer acquisition, made his debut for the Lyon team during the last 25 minutes of play. After making an impression in the preseason, Calafiori is hoping to make his competitive debut on Saturday. However, Arteta may decide to start Oleksandr Zinchenko at left-back instead. In the final preseason games, Zinchenko, Ben White, William Saliba, and Gabriel Magalhaes formed a well-balanced back four.
Calafiori is the lone new player; otherwise, Arsenal’s starting eleven will probably resemble the one that played close to Manchester City the previous year. It is anticipated that Kai Havertz, who concluded the previous season as Arteta’s preferred striker, will stay in the starting lineup. With the team aiming for a strong start to their title bid, Arteta is determined to address and correct any mistakes from the previous season.
