Arsenal predicted XI vs Slavia Prague as Arteta makes Rice and Gyokeres decisions

football.london predicts the Arsenal team to face Slavia Praha in the UEFA Champions League

Arsenal take on Slavia Praha in Czechia in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday evening. The Gunners are hoping to make it four wins from four matches and potentially still have zero goals conceded.

Several players are missing in addition to the existing group, who have been absent with injuries for many weeks. Viktor Gyokeres was not spotted in pre-match training, while Martin Zubimendi is suspended, and there is a risk of a further ban if one of the team’s stars is not careful.

Mikel Arteta knows there is just one more game until the international break after this but with it being a tough away trip to Sunderland, as usual, he needs to balance readiness, competitiveness and fitness. With that in mind, football.london looks at who they think will start the match at the Fortuna Arena.

David Raya

The Spaniard could help Arsenal keep their eighth clean sheet in a row on Tuesday evening, a record that goes back to 1903.

Ben White

With the obsession around winning, there is a sense that despite the presence of Jurrien Timber, Ben White, who started against Olympiacos, will likely start here.

Cristhian Mosquera

There is, however, more comfort and with Cristhian Mosquera filling in for any player, and it might be here that William Saliba is given a rest.

Gabriel Magalhaes

Gabriel is just too important to drop from any Arsenal team at the moment, and the Brazilian will again be a threat from set-pieces.

Piero Hincapie

The Ecuador international replaced Riccardo Calafiori from the bench at Burnley, and this could be the first sign of how the shift in Arteta’s mind at left-back here.

Christian Norgaard

With Martin Zubimendi suspended, it makes sense that the Dane comes in to replace him in his natural number six role.

Declan Rice

There is a risk to playing Rice, as he is just one card away from suspension and would miss the next match, against Bayern Munich.

Ethan Nwaneri

Giving Eberechi Eze a rest after many successive starts allowed Ethan Nwaneri to step into his position behind the centre-half.

Bukayo Saka

Another opportunity for Saka to play, and with the likes of Martin Odegaard and Noni Madueke coming back, hopefully, he can have some more rest but Max Dowman could become the Champions League’s youngest ever player should he come on.

Mikel Merino

With Viktor Gyokeres potentially missing, and Kai Havertz or Gabriel Jesus yet to return, the Spaniard is the obvious candidate and he replaced the Swede at Burnley.

Leandro Trossard

The Belgian is likely to start again, too, due to a lack of depth on the left as Gabriel Martinelli remains out of the squad until he recovers from an ongoing issue.