All coaches love to intentionally obfuscate the injury information of their own players, but Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta may be taking this practice to an art form. Atalanta will get no real information from Arteta’s pre-Champions League media availabilities, at all. That’s because Arteta is as super stealth as it gets, when it comes to this stuff.
Injuries are a big issue right now for Arsenal, as they will be for plenty of other teams soon as well.
UEFA Champions League Matchday 1 of 8
Arsenal FC at Atalanta
Kickoff: Thurs, Sept 19, 9pm, Gewiss Stadium, Bergamo, Italy
Arsenal Preview Material: Team News Starting XI Prediction
The expansion of the UCL tournament, all the extra fixtures being played, not just in this format, but in all of European football, is getting players talking. And what they’re saying is basically a.) nobody asked them about the increased workload and b.) they’re getting very fed up about it.
So watch this space, on that storyline. As for the Gunners first team here, don’t expect any changes from the North London Derby win. Arteta doesn’t really have the depth right now (due to all the injured players), to do squad rotation. Here is how the 4-4-2 could look.
Arsenal FC Starting XI Prediction at Atalanta (Champions League)
David Raya; Ben White, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, Jurrien Timber; Gabriel Martinelli, Thomas Partey, Jorginho, Bukayo Saka; Gabriel Jesus, Kai Havertz
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.