Arsenal travel to take on Fulham as the League returns today.
The Gunners are in fine form as they prepare to make the short trip across the capital, winning their last four games in a row across all competitions, scoring eight goals and conceding just once.
However, Arsenal’s title credentials will likely be examined thoroughly on the banks of the River Thames as this is a fixture in which they have come unstuck in the past two seasons.
That said, this could be the perfect time to face Fulham as Marco Silva’s side go into the game on the back of successive defeats by Aston Villa and Bournemouth, and are dealing with an injury crisis.
It’s the start of another hectic run of games for Arsenal, meaning Mikel Arteta will need to make full use of his squad with seven fixtures to be played in the space of 21 days.
Fulham vs Arsenal team news
Left-back Antonee Robinson is unavailable again for Fulham, while Sasa Lukic is out for between four to six weeks with an adductor injury and Rodrigo Muniz – who scored at the Emirates Stadium last season – remains sidelined.
Samuel Chukwueze is also out after being substituted at half-time of Nigeria’s World Cup qualifier against Benin, with Raul Jimenez and Kenny Tete still doubts.
Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard is expected to be missing for a number of weeks after sustaining a medial collateral ligament injury to his left knee in the win over West Ham before the international break.
Eberechi Eze, Ethan Nwaneri and Mikel Merino are all options to fill in for Odegaard, while Declan Rice proved his fitness for England after being substituted against his former club last time out.
Kai Havertz, Noni Madueke and Gabriel Jesus will not feature in west London, but summer signing Piero Hincapie should be fit and Arteta allayed concerns over Ben White and Martin Zubimendi.
Arsenal appeared to have clicked, particularly in attack, before the international break, but will hope Odegaard’s absence doesn’t derail things.
The Gunners’ squad appears strong enough to cope with injuries at present and this is where the signing of Eze proves beneficial and we expect the England international to make the difference.
