Arsenal best and worst case scenario squad for North London Derby as striker pick looms

The North London Derby has come around quickly for Arsenal and they will take on their bitter rivals with some key players missing. Declan Rice is suspended while Mikel Merino and Takehiro Tomiyasu are both out with longer-term issues that Mikel Arteta has said will last weeks.

There are question marks over several other members of the squad that Arteta will be hoping for positive updates on this week. The Spaniard faces the media at the end of the week where he will as usual be quizzed on the status of key members of his squad.

Players will be gradually returning back from their respective international responsibilities this week meaning there will be a much-reduced time for Arteta to ready them for such a pivotal game.

Best-case scenario

To have Gabriel Jesus back for the weekend would be a big plus for Arsenal. The Brazilian has been missing since the trip to Aston Villa with what was described as a minor issue but he also missed the Brighton game which did worry fans it was more serious.

The Brazilian’s return would allow Kai Havertz to potentially move into midfield and cover the suspended Rice. Both Martin Odegaard and Riccardo Calafiori have been in focus regarding injury scares over the international break and the latter has since returned back to London early to be assessed.

It was not thought to be too serious and therefore the is optimism that if indeed he missed the game with Spurs he might make the European clash in midweek with Atalanta. Any further returnees are likely too far away for consideration.

If Jesus does not make the squad, finding a way to move Havertz into midfield may require either one of two options. Either Leandro Trossard plays through the middle with Gabriel Martinelli on the left or Raheem Sterling makes his debut as an unorthodox centre-forward.

Any further issues that could crop up in the remaining games including England vs Finland which is likely to feature Bukayo Saka and Netherlands vs Germany which will pit Havertz and Jurrien Timber against one another would be big blows. Oleksandr Zinchenko’s Ukraine also take on Czechia and Gabriel Magalhaes takes on Paraguay with Brazil in the early hours of Wednesday.

This will mean a late return for a key member of the group and a test for Arteta’s preparation. Arsenal fans have been used to Spurs’ injured stars miraculously recovering at the last minute so many will be expecting Micky van de Ven to make the game.