Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta anticipates “a very tough game” against Ipswich Town at the Emirates Stadium on Friday night (8:15 PM, Amazon Prime).
The Gunners are coming off a 5-1 victory over Crystal Palace on Saturday and currently sit third in the Premier League standings. Meanwhile, Ipswich, who were defeated 4-0 by Newcastle at home, are 19th in the table.
Speaking about Ipswich’s recent promotion to the top flight, Arteta expressed admiration for their progress. “I’m very impressed,” he said. “I like Kieran (McKenna) a lot, and people who know him well always have great things to say about him. You can see their coaching style and what they’re trying to achieve. They’ve been unlucky not to get the results they deserve in many games, so it will definitely be a challenging match.”
Arsenal suffered a setback in their win against Palace, as Bukayo Saka (5 goals, 10 assists in all competitions) sustained a hamstring injury that will keep him sidelined for an extended period. With Raheem Sterling (knee) also unavailable, Arteta faces a shortage of natural right-wing options.
“I’m considering a few ideas,” Arteta said. “I haven’t finalized anything yet, but I want to discuss it with the players to figure out how we can adapt positively. Gabby (Martinelli), Ethan (Nwaneri), and Leo (Trossard) have played there before, and Kai (Havertz) could also step in with a different role. We’ll see how it comes together.”
Arsenal remain without Ben White (knee), Oleksandr Zinchenko (muscle), and Takehiro Tomiyasu (knee), but Declan Rice and Ricardo Calafiori returned from injury off the bench last weekend.
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