Mikel Arteta has made two changes to his side for tonight’s top-of-the-table clash against Aston Villa, with Gabriel and Jurrien Timber back in our backline – and two players returning from injury on the bench.
The Brazilian defender made his long-awaited comeback after a thigh injury sustained in last month’s international break as a sub in our 2-1 win against Brighton & Hove Albion, but tonight he is in the heart of our defence alongside his usual partner William Saliba.
Piero Hincapie keeps his place and shuffles over to left-back, while Timber also returns after missing the game against the Seagulls with a knock.
Having deputised at right-back on the weekend, Declan Rice is missing from the matchday squad, but there are a pair of fitness boosts on the bench.
Kai Havertz, who has been missing since the opening day of the season when he picked up a knee injury against Manchester United, is now back in contention after a couple of weeks of training, while Ben White has recovered from a hamstring issue sustained earlier in the month.
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How to watch Arsenal v Aston Villa live on TV
As for Villa, Unai Emery has made five changes to the team that came from behind to beat Chelsea 2-1 on Saturday.
Two of them are enforced with Matty Cash and Boubacar Kamara suspended so Lamare Bogarde and Jaydon Sancho replace them in the side, while unsurprisingly, given his brace off the bench at Stamford Bridge, Ollie Watkins replaces Donyell Marlen up front.
The other switches see the matchwinner from our last encounter, Emi Buendia, replace John McGinn, while Lucas Digne is preferred to Ian Maatsen at left-back.
LINE-UPs
Arsenal: Raya, Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Hincapie, Zubimendi, Merino, Odegaard, Saka, Trossard, Gyokeres.
Subs: Arrizabalaga, White, Lewis-Skelly, Norgaard, Eze, Martinelli, Madueke, Havertz, Jesus.
Aston Villa: Martinez, Bogarde, Konsa, Lindelof, Digne, Onana, Tielemans, Sancho, Rogers, Buendia, Watkins.
Subs: Bizot, Wright, Garcia, Maatsen, Routh, McGinn, Hemmings, Jimoh-Aloba, Malen.
Ahead of kick-off, get the key stats, a tactical guide to Villa, TV listings and much more in our in-depth match preview.
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Preview: Arsenal v Aston Villa
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