Arsenal's injury crisis has been laid bare after Mikel Arteta named his starting line-up for Wednesday's Champions League match against Monaco.
The Gunners host the Ligue 1 side who need a win to return to the automatic last 16 places in the table. But Arteta is facing major problems with his side hit by a number of injuries.
During his pre-match press conference, held on Tuesday, Arteta confirmed that Jurrien Timber, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Thomas Partey, Gabriel and Riccardo Calafiori are all dealing with problems. This has led to a significantly changed line-up compared to the line-up that will face Fulham on Sunday.
The main change is that Myles Lewis-Skelly starts at left back, instead of Timber. The 18-year-old has played six games this season, with Wednesday's match being only his second start.
Lewis-Skelly is joined in defense by Partey, who has recovered from his injury and starts at right back. William Saliba and Jakub Kiwior continue their partnership at center back, with Gabriel still on the sidelines.
Between the sticks, David Raya maintains his ever-present status in the Champions League. Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard continue in midfield, with Mikel Merino taking the place of Jorginho, who drops to the bench.
Gabriel Martinelli has made possible a recall to the starting line-up after his eye-catching cameo from the bench against Fulham. The Brazilian starts on the left wing, with Bukayo Saka on the right.
After his poor display against the Cottagers, Kai Havertz has been dropped from the starting line-up, with Gabriel Jesus given a rare chance to impress from the start. Jesus has only made six starts this campaign so far.
Timber is fit enough for the bench, where he will be joined by Jorginho and Sterling. The substitutes also include Raheem Sterling, Leandro Trossard, Ethan Nwaneri and Kieran Tierney, who if he comes on will make his first appearance for Arsenal in 16 months.
Arteta lamented the numerous injury problems his side faced ahead of Wednesday's match. He said: “It is what it is. If we ultimately have to accept the challenge, there are opportunities for other players to do so.
“In the ideal scenario, we should be in charge of making those decisions. It forces us to make these decisions for the wrong reasons, but we also have to accept the reality and move forward. I'm very happy with the way we're doing.” play, and the great thing is that it doesn't condition the team to the point where we have to become a different team.
“So I'm very happy with that, the way the team is adapting, the way players are making the effort to play in different positions and hopefully the ideal situation will arise soon and we can do what we want.
“I was hoping to improve it and it did improve, but soon after the first game we had problems and more problems than we expected. We have a lot of joint injuries that are very difficult to predict.”
Arsenal XI takes on Monaco: Raya, Partey, Saliba, Kiwior, Lewis-Skelly, Rice, Merino, Odegaard, Saka, Martinelli, Jesus.
Subs: Neto, Setford, Timber, Tierney, Robinson, Heaven, Monlouis, Jorginho, Nwaneri, Trossard, Sterling, Havertz.
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