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Arsenal have confirmed their starting XI to face Aston Villa with Jurrien Timber in for Declan Rice. Ahead of the huge Premier League clash, it was revealed by The Athletic that he had suffered a knee injury in the win over Brighton last weekend.
Their report added that everything had been done by staff and player to make him available, but there was concerns over aggravating the issue. Other notable updates in the team news includes Gabriel Magalhaes starting while Riccardo Calafiori is out.
Though Rice's absence is a blow, Arsenal have been handed two boosts with Ben White and Kai Havertz being back on the bench
Rice was spotted arriving at the team hotel with his teammates. Cameras also captured him hurriedly heading into the dressing room with it clear he has some involvement in the clash.
His absence is another major injury blow for Arteta to deal with alongside Calafiori's issue. It does however seem that positives are outweighing negatives with Gabriel, Timber, Havertz and White back in the fold to varying degrees.
Aston Villa are also dealing with some key absences that includes suspensions for Boubacar Kamara and Matty Cash. Pau Torres is the key player that remains out with Lamare Bogarde in at right-back while Youri Tielemans has dropped back to a deeper midfield role.
That has seen Jadon Sancho come in for his first Premier League start of the season in an attacking three behind Morgan Rogers, Emiliano Buendia and Saturday's goal-scoring hero Ollie Watkins.
In the short-term, Arteta will be desperately hoping for his side to pick up three points against their potential title rivals.
With so many more fixtures on the horizon, Rice will be eager to return swiftly and the hope is that he has just suffered a minor knee injury.
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