After a chaotic week, Arsenal are hoping for greater serenity up until the October international break and their kinder domestic run continues at home to Leicester City on Saturday afternoon.
Mikel Arteta’s Gunners were forced to run the gauntlet as they faced Tottenham, Atalanta and Manchester City all away from home in the space of seven days. They escaped with their unbeaten start still in tact before blitzing past League One outfit Bolton in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday.
Arsenal once used to dread duels with Leicester but they’ve won the previous five meetings between the two clubs, often at a canter.
The Foxes are huge underdogs this weekend, with Steve Cooper’s side one of six Premier League teams yet to record their first win of the 2024/25 campaign. They’ve secured ‘positive’ results in back-to-back league outings, but they merely scraped past League Two Walsall in the cup on Tuesday.
The pressure is already beginning to mount on former Nottingham Forest manager Cooper.
Here is 90min’s guide to Arsenal’s upcoming Premier League clash.
Arsenal vs Leicester H2H Record (Last Five Games)
Current form (all competitions)
How to watch Arsenal vs Leicester on TV and live stream
Arsenal team news
Martin Odegaard provided a fitness update in the week after sustaining an ankle injury on international duty earlier this month. He’s likely to be out of action until the October break, at least.
Odegaard remains on the sidelines with summer arrival Mikel Merino, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Kieran Tierney.
Arteta also noted after the Bolton win that David Raya, Jurrien Timber and Ben White are all doubts heading into Saturday’s game. The three players were absent in midweek, with White playing through an injury at Man City last Sunday.
Leandro Trossard served his one-game suspension on Wednesday and can return to the matchday squad.
Arsenal predicted lineup vs Leicester (4-3-3): Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori; Partey, Rice, Havertz; Saka, Jesus, Martinelli.
Leicester team news
The visitors are still without Patson Daka, who sustained an ankle injury late in pre-season. The Zambian forward will likely make his comeback after the October break.
Jannik Vestergaard and Jakub Stolarczyk are also dealing with ankle blows that will keep them out of Saturday’s game.
Cooper will ring the changes from Tuesday’s starting XI, with the likes of Jamie Vardy, Wilfred Ndidi, Wout Faes and Stephy Mavididi set for returns. Former Tottenham Hotspur midfielders Harry Winks and Oliver Skipp are both in contention.
Leicester predicted lineup vs Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Hermansen; Justin, Faes, Okoli, Kristiansen; Winks, Ndidi; Ayew, Buonanotte, Mavididi; Vardy.
Arsenal are yet to spread their wings from an attacking sense at the start of the new season, although there have been mitigating circumstances.
Assuming they can avoid delaying the restart in this one and finding themselves at a man disadvantage again, the hosts should win this one comfortably. It’s unclear what the Gunners’ apex is in the final third this season, but it’s hard to envisage this Leicester side putting up much resistance.
The Foxes, despite the presence of usual Gunners slayer Jamie Vardy, lack the requisite thrust in transition to trouble a stern backline.
