MIKEL ARTETA revealed that Arsenal will be able to call on both Riccardo Calafiori and Ben White for their trip to face Wolves on Wednesday night.
The Gunners travel to the Molineux in a crucial game that could help them pile the pressure on title rivals Manchester City.
Arsenal take on bottom of the table Wolves in a rescheduled clash due to their participation in the Carabao Cup final – meaning they can extend their advantage over City without a reply.
Win and Arsenal will go SEVEN points clear at the top of the tree and regain the psychological advantage over Pep Guardiola‘s City side.
But Wolves’ league position isn’t quite representative of their recent form, with Rob Edwards steadying the ship in Wolverhampton.
Wolves have lost just three of their last ten games and Arsenal needed two own goals when they edged past them in a 2-1 victory earlier in the season.
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Mikel Arteta lost Riccardo Calafiori to injury in the pre-match warm-up ahead of Arsenal’s 4-0 thrashing of Wigan at the weekend, while Ben White looked in some discomfort when he was substituted in the second half.
However, the Arsenal boss has revealed that both defenders will be fit and available for selection on Wednesday night.
He said: “[Calafiori] is fine. He was training with us today, he’s feeling better, and hopefully he’s fit for tomorrow.
“[For White] It was just a bit of fatigue, obviously he did a lot in the game and by the end of it, he was feeling a bit of tightness in the hamstring, but he’s fine.”
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Arteta will be short in midfield, though, with Kai Havertz, Mikel Merino and Martin Odegaard still out injured.
Merino is expected to miss most of the remainder of the season after undergoing surgery on a bone in his right foot.
But both Odegaard and Havertz could return for the North London derby on Sunday.
Arteta said: “For Wolves, Odegaard is not going to be fit. But for Sunday we’re very hopeful that he can be with us.
“Kai is the other one that again, for the weekend is a possibility, so looking forward to having him in the squad.”
PREDICTED LINEUP
Despite Calafiori being back in contention for the game, it would be a surprise if he was risked from the start.
Expect to see Piero Hincapie start at left-back alongside the usual suspects of Gabriel Magalhaes, William Saliba and Jurrien Timber across the back four.
Declan Rice and Martin Zubimendi are likely to start at the base of midfield, but the attacking role is where there could be a surprise given the injuries Arsenal are dealing with.
Arteta played Bukayo Saka as the No10 in the first half against Wigan on Sunday and could be tempted to do it again after an impressive cameo.
However, Ebere Eze is more likely to occupy that role with Saka rested from the off ahead of this weekend’s huge North London derby.
Noni Madueke will likely keep his place on the right wing after hitting form in recent weeks, while Arteta needs to make a decision over who to start on the left between Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli.
Gabriel Jesus scored once again against Wigan, but Arteta tends to go with summer signing Viktor Gyokeres up top in the Premier League.
Predicted XI: Raya, Hincapie, Gabriel, Saliba, Timber, Zubimendi, Rice, Eze, Trossard, Gyokeres, Madueke
SUNSPORT PREDICTS
Wolves aren’t the pushovers they were at the start of the season, and Arsenal remain the only Premier League team not to score a goal of their own against them this season.
However, Arsenal need to win this game and have far too much firepower not to manage to get three points against bottom of the league.
The Gunners also have such a strong backline and it’s hard to see Wolves managing to penetrate it – even at home.
SunSport predicts: Wolves 0-2 Arsenal
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