Without Declan Rice, Charles Watts selects the Arsenal midfield that is expected to start against Tottenham.
Without Declan Rice, Charles Watts selects the Arsenal midfield that will probably start against Tottenham.
Charles Watts, a dependable journalist, makes his prediction about Declan Rice’s replacement in the Arsenal midfield for the North London Derby.
When the international break ends, Mikel Arteta has a big decision to make. Declan Rice, one of Arsenal’s key players, won’t be playing when they play Tottenham in the North London Derby the following weekend.
The Arsenal midfielder is currently facing a one-game suspension after being controversially shown a red card for kicking the ball away during Brighton’s attempt to take a quick free-kick last weekend.
Without their record signing, the Gunners will have to defeat their rivals from North London. Who will start in the middle of the field on Sunday in Declan Rice’s place?
This season, Martin Odegaard and Thomas Partey have started all three Premier League games, and it is anticipated that they will do so in the upcoming North London Derby. Mikel Arteta, though, has limited options when it comes to selecting the midfield trio against Spurs.
Declan Rice will undoubtedly be sorely missed. He’s one of Arsenal’s primary leaders and one of the team’s most important players right now. However, it appears that Charles Watts knows who will start in the midfield at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium the following weekend.
fresh signee Following a shoulder injury sustained during his first Arsenal training session last week, Mikel Merino will be sidelined for six to eight weeks. Thus, the primary candidates to succeed Declan Rice are Jorginho, Kai Havertz, or possibly Ethan Nwaneri.
It’s interesting to note that Charles Watts believes Kai Havertz should drop back into midfield and Mikel Arteta could rejoin the starting lineup from the start of the previous campaign.
Charles Watts: “It’s just a big, big game, and Havertz seems like the most likely choice.” You could play Martinelli on the left and Saka on the right, in addition to playing Trossard up front.
“As much as I would prefer Havertz to remain a central striker, I just don’t really see what other option there is for Arteta when I look around the Arsenal squad with Merino injured.”
As the starting striker for this Arsenal squad, Kai Havertz is playing in the best form of his career. It would be risky to drop him back into the midfield, but starting Jorginho, who hasn’t played a minute this season, is the only other choice.
Charles Watts recommends starting Leandro Trossard up top with Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka on either side because Gabriel Jesus is also currently injured.
Another course of action that Mikel Arteta may take is to give new recruit Raheem Sterling a starting role. Although he typically plays off the left, the 29-year-old has started games as the primary striker in the past.
