Mikel Arteta to make nine Arsenal changes vs Wigan Athletic as £45m star returns

Arsenal entertain Wigan Athletic in the FA Cup fourth round at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday evening.

The Gunners played out a 1-1 Premier League draw against Brentford on the road on Thursday.

They extended their gap over second-placed Manchester City to four points, but would have ideally preferred a bigger lead.

The club’s focus will now turn to the FA Cup fourth-round tie against Wigan, who are currently 22nd in League One.

Manager Mikel Arteta has hinted at several changes, particularly with a league trip to Wolverhampton Wanderers on Wednesday.

We believe Arteta could make at least nine changes from the Brentford draw.

Goalkeeper switch

Kepa Arrizabalaga is the club’s second-choice goalkeeper. He has started every Carabao and FA Cup game this term. The Spaniard is poised to replace David Raya between the sticks tomorrow. He will be eyeing his fourth clean sheet of the season.

Three changes in defence

Jurrien Timber and Gabriel Magalhaes are expected to be rested for the game and could feature as substitutes if required. Piero Hincapie could likewise drop to the bench as part of the rotation.

We anticipate Ben White and Riccardo Calafiori to slot in the right and left-back positions. Centre-back Cristhian Mosquera made a rare league start in midweek due to William Saliba’s illness. The Spaniard had a fine outing and made a superb last-ditch clearance on Igor Thiago in the second half.

Mosquera could line up alongside Saliba in the heart of the defence against the Latics. The latter could be handed some minutes under his belt. He could play for at least an hour in preparation for the Wolves encounter next week.

Double midfield change

Christian Norgaard is obviously expected to come in for Martin Zubimendi in the holding midfield position tomorrow. Alongside Zubimendi, Declan Rice could likewise be rested after a tireless performance at Brentford, which included a superb intervention at the end.

Myles Lewis-Skelly could operate as a central midfielder for the Gunners. Arteta has never started the Englishman in midfield, but it could be a game to do so. Lewis-Skelly has had plenty of playing time in the centre of the park during his development phase in the Gunners academy.

Eberechi Eze is poised to keep his place as the central attacking midfielder with Kai Havertz injured and Martin Odegaard doubtful. Odegaard sustained a knock to his knee against the Bees and was spotted limping after the match. He could be rested for the upcoming Cup tie.

Eze was substituted at the half-time interval on Thursday. Peter Crouch described him as a ‘passenger‘ after the draw. The former Crystal Palace man has looked short of confidence over the past couple of months, and hopefully, he can grab a goal or an assist versus Wigan.

A fresh attack

It could be a fresh attack against the Latics at the Emirates. Noni Madueke scored a vital goal in the Brentford draw before being replaced by Bukayo Saka, who was rusty after returning from a hip concern. Saka could get the nod on the right wing to boost his match fitness.

Viktor Gyokeres is the preferred Premier League striker under Arteta. The Swede has fared decently with 13 goals in all competitions this season. He provided a brilliant pass to Jurrien Timber in stoppage time in midweek. Timber put the ball on the plate for Gabriel Martinelli to score, but the winger could not convert the chance into the winning goal.

Gyokeres should be rested tomorrow. Gabriel Jesus did not play a single minute in west London and should lead the line. The £45 million signing has four goals from 16 appearances since his long-term injury. The Brazilian will be eyeing his first goal of the FA Cup campaign.

Martinelli was guilty of squandering a clear-cut scoring chance against Brentford. Arteta acknowledged that the winger should have been more ruthless with the opportunity. The 24-year-old bagged a hat-trick in the FA Cup third round win at Portsmouth and looks set to start on the left wing ahead of Leandro Trossard tomorrow. Trossard will most likely make the XI against Wolves.

Stats from Transfermarkt.com

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