Premier League leaders Arsenal will travel to Kenilworth Road to face Luton Town on Tuesday evening, looking for their fourth league win on the bounce.
The North London side opened up a four-point lead at the summit courtesy of a 2-1 beating of Wolves on Saturday. With Manchester City, Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur all dropping points over the weekend, the Gunners will head to Luton with an extra boost.
Mikel Arteta’s side are now riding on the back of five consecutive victories in all competitions and will want to maintain their excellent record on the road this season, shipping just three goals in six games.
Arsenal Team News
Arsenal were dealt a blow on Saturday when Takehiro Tomiyasu was taken off against Wolves with a potential injury. He is unlikely to be risked on Tuesday.
Jurrien Timber (knee), Emile Smith Rowe (knee), Fabio Vieira (groin) and Thomas Partey (thigh) are no closer to making their returns.
Predicted Arsenal lineup vs Luton Town (4-3-3)
Goalkeeper
David Raya will keep his place in goal, hoping to keep a clean sheet at Kenilworth Road after missing out against Wolves last weekend.
Defence
Takehiro Tomiyasu’s injury is a blow for Arsenal, but Mikel Arteta has a readymade replacement in the form of Ben White.
The England international should join an otherwise unchanged defensive setup consisting of William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes and Oleksandr Zinchenko in the Arsenal lineup.
The aforementioned back four must stay compact and avoid giving away cheap fouls in and around the box.
Midfield
With Tuesday’s game representing Arsenal’s third match in the space of a week, Arteta may shuffle his options in midfield. Kai Havertz and Jorginho may come into the Spaniard’s thinking while he chalks up the Arsenal lineup, with the former potentially replacing Leandro Trossard, who completed the full game against Wolves last weekend.
With Rice holding the fort in midfield extremely well, Jorginho may have to settle for a spot on the bench again. Meanwhile, Martin Odegaard, who scored against Wolves, should be the creative glue between midfield and attack again.
Attack
Gabriel Martinelli was substituted around the 78th minute with a trip to Luton on the horizon in midweek. So, he will be relatively fresh to start the game than Bukayo Saka, who worked his socks off against Wolves before being taken off in the stoppage time. Yet, Arteta is expected to persist with Saka on the right flank in the Arsenal lineup.
Leading the attack will be Gabriel Jesus. The Brazilian will be determined to score at Luton after failing to get on the scoresheet on Saturday, with Eddie Nketiah, whose underwhelming cameo in the 2-1 win over Wolves should see him start on the bench again.
