Mikel Arteta to make nine Arsenal changes vs Ipswich Town, 17-year-old at right-back
Arsenal take on Ipswich Town on the road in the Carabao Cup third round on Tuesday night.
The Gunners have had the perfect start to the season with six straight wins in all competitions, and will aim to extend the run at Portman Road.
Ahead of the game, manager Mikel Arteta is expected to make a plethora of changes.
We anticipate at least nine changes from the 2-0 Premier League win at Sunderland.
Since last season, Arteta has used Kepa Arrizabalaga as the goalkeeper in the Cup competitions. The former Chelsea man should replace David Raya between the sticks on Tuesday.
In defence, there could be at least three changes. Right-back Ben White picked up an apparent groin injury on Saturday, and Jurrien Timber replaced him at the interval.
However, Timber has just returned from a groin issue of his own and may not be risked from the starting XI, given he has played one competitive game since May 31. This could see club graduate Marli Salmon get the nod at right-back.
The 17-year-old had a bright pre-season but has struggled to make matchday squads due to fierce competition. The youngster could finally make his first appearance of the season.
Either Ezri Konsa or Gabriel Magalhaes could be rested, and it could be the latter. We predict Piero Hincapie to come in to partner Konsa in the heart of the defence against Ipswich. Cristhian Mosquera has yet to recover from a minor muscle injury while William Saliba is out for the long term with a back concern.
Meanwhile, Riccardo Calafiori’s workload needs to be managed, given his injury record in the past. Arteta could utilise the services of Myles Lewis-Skelly in a left-back capacity tomorrow.
Declan Rice has been managing neural hamstring pain this year and should be given a break. With Lewis-Skelly dropping into the defence, Martin Zubimendi and Bruno Guimaraes could be the midfield pairing.
Guimaraes scored a world-class goal off the bench against Sunderland. He needs more minutes under his belt after recent injuries and should get a run out alongside Zubimendi, who could make his first start of the campaign.
The attack will most certainly be overhauled. Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, Christos Tzolis and Kai Havertz could feature on the bench. Few of them may come on if Arsenal find themselves trailing.
Arteta has a straightforward choice to replace the quartet. Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze should start on the right and left wing respectively, with Max Dowman operating in the number 10 position.
Viktor Gyokeres, who was an unused substitute last weekend, will likely lead the line. Mikel Merino is another option for the manager, but we fancy him replacing Guimaraes at the hour mark.
Likely Arsenal line-up (4-2-3-1) vs Ipswich: Arrizabalaga; Salmon, Konsa, Hincapie, Lewis-Skelly; Zubimendi, Guimaraes; Madueke, Dowman, Eze; Gyokeres.
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