Arsenal kick-off the run-in to the new year by welcoming newly-promoted Ipswich Town to the Emirates.
After Arsenal beat Crystal Palace 5-1 at Selhurst Park, the Gunners returned to winning ways following a mass of criticism.
The differences between Arsenal and Liverpool have been spoken about with regard to the Premier League title race, which is led by Arne Slot’s side.
Still, Arteta has full trust in his squad, with the next hurdle to overcome being Ipswich in N5.
Arsenal team news ahead of Ipswich Town clash
Team news can’t be spoken about without mentioning the elephant in the room at Arsenal at present.
Bukayo Saka will be out for weeks with a hamstring injury he sustained against Palace, something that’s a huge blow for the Gunners.
Arsenal will have a tough time replacing Saka, with matters not made easier by the fact that he’s not the only attacker out of action.
Arteta confirmed that Raheem Sterling suffered a knee injury so will also be out however, there’s a possible boost as Oleksandr Zinchenko was spotted in training.
Arsenal predicted lineup to play Ipswich
Fortunately for Arteta, the goalkeeper and centre-backs speak for themselves with David Raya, William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes untouchable in the squad.
The same goes for Jurrien Timber at right back, with the only dilemma being whether Myles Lewis-Skelly continues to start now that Riccardo Calafiori is back.
Lewis-Skelly has impressed in recent weeks and given that the Italian is injury-prone, Arteta could lean towards handing the teenager a third consecutive Premier League start.
In midfield, Kai Havertz could push forward once more to make room for Declan Rice, seeing a middle trio of Thomas Partey, Rice and Martin Odegaard prevail.
Leading the line would be the Germany international, pushing Gabriel Jesus to the left and moving Gabriel Martinelli to the right to replace Saka.
Some believe that Martinelli can sufficiently replace Saka by simply switching sides, something that Arteta will be hoping can work for the time being.
Full Arsenal predicted lineup: Raya; Lewis-Skelly, Saliba, Gabriel, Timber; Partey, Rice, Odegaard; Jesus, Martinelli, Havertz
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