Ramsdale in, Arteta keeps faith in £27m star: Predicted Arsenal XI v Brentford

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Arsenal will take on Brentford in a Premier League clash on Saturday.

Mikel Arteta will be forced into a few changes to his regular starting XI when Arsenal travel to Brentford this weekend. 

Ben White, Martin Odegaard, and Gabriel Jesus have all endured fitness issues recently. Whilst they may all be available for selection on Saturday, we don’t expect Arteta to risk starting any of them. They will likely be held in reserve, there to call upon from the bench if needed.

Two players with no chance of involvement are Fabio Vieira and David Raya. The former is serving a three-match ban following his sending off against Burnley last time out. The goalkeeper, meanwhile, is on loan at Arsenal from Brentford and is therefore ineligible to play against his parent club. 

However, transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano recently stated that Arsenal have decided to make Raya’s move the Emirates Stadium permanent.

With those factors in mind, this is how we expect Arsenal to line up against the Bees.

Predicted Arsenal starting XI

Aaron Ramsdale

Given Raya’s enforced absence, Aaron Ramsdale will make his first Premier League appearance since September. The 25-year-old will be keen to remind Arteta just how good he can, having apparently decided to stay and fight for his place at Arsenal.

Takehiro Tomiyasu

Takehiro Tomiyasu will move over to right-back to cover for White.

William Saliba

A talismanic figure in the heart of the Arsenal rearguard, we expect William Saliba to be present.

Gabriel Magalhaes

Having forged a solid partnership with Saliba, Arteta is unlikely to break with convention and leave Gabriel Magalhaes out.

Oleksandr Zinchenko

Despite being somewhat short of options in the middle of the park, Arteta has no intention of moving Oleksandr Zinchenko into midfield. Expect him to continue at left-back.

Jorginho

Jorginho ought to keep his place at the base of the midfield, with Thomas Partey sidelined with injury and Declan Rice needed further up the pitch.

Kai Havertz

Off the back of an interesting international break, Kai Havertz will be keen to kick on at Arsenal and get his career truly up and running in north London.

Declan Rice

An undroppable figure at present, Rice will feature somewhere in the midfield unit, likely as the left-eight.

Bukayo Saka

If Bukayo Saka is fit, he starts.

Gabriel Martinelli

Will have enjoyed opening his account at international level with Brazil in the last week, and now needs to continue that good form for his club.

Leandro Trossard

Leandro Trossard has shown that he can effectively lead the line for Arsenal in recent weeks. Until Jesus is back to 100% fitness, Arteta ought to keep faith in the £27 million Belgian attacker.