Cole Palmer is not in the Chelsea team to tackle Arsenal.
Palmer, 22, is said to have a tight hamstring, after he played the second half of the 1-0 victory of the Blues at home against the Danish side Copenhagen in the Conference League Round-of-160 on Thursday. The English star did not score for 10 games and recently misses his very first penalty, but remains one of the most crucial players in Chelsea under Enzo Maresca.
A victory at the Emirates against their rivals in London would see the blues cement fourth place in the Premier League table, which stimulates their hope for qualifying for the Champions League next season. But Maresca, who will soon offer an update on Palmer, has decided not to risk his star.
The Chelsea manager, however, sent Robert Sanchez back to the starting XI, where Filip Jorgensen had received in goal against Copenhagen. “Yes, it will be Robert who plays against Arsenal,” Maresca confirmed during his press conference for the game.
“I have often said that we are happy with both keepers. But sometimes you have to be flexible. Since we started, the idea was not to change the goalkeeper, but you have to be flexible; we do this with the game plan, the way we want to attack and defend, but we also have to be flexible with players with players [changing the personnel]. “
Both Arsenal and Chelsea are without a natural striker, so the opposite number of Maresca, Mikel Arteta, has also gone with an improvised forward line. “It's pretty strange to both of us because they are all injured,” said Maresca.
“They try to find solutions and we try to find solutions. Pedro [Neto] Since we started [using him in that role] It is going very well and we will see on Sunday whether we use Pedro there or change something. We'll see. As I said, all clubs during the season will have injuries, so you have to adjust, be flexible and find solutions. “
Arsenal XI: Raya; Wood, Saliba, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly; Parey, Rice, Odegaard; Trossard, Merino, Martinelli
Subs: Neto, Tierney, White, Kiwior, Zinchenko, Calafiori, Butler-Oyedeji, Nwaneri
Chelsea XI: Sanchez; James, Fofana, Badishile, Colwill, Cucurella; Caicedo, Fernandez; Sancho, Nunku; Neto
Subs: Jorgensen, Bettinelli, Adarabioyo, Dewsbury-Hall, Chalobah, Gusto, George, Achampong, Lavia
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