Arsenal face Manchester City in what is being billed as the Gunners' most important fixture not just of the season but potentially in the last ten years. A win for Arsenal and it would take them clear of their rivals with a game in hand but should they lose and suddenly top spot will be Pep Guardiola and City’s.
Mikel Arteta spoke ahead of the fixture that he was writing up the list of those available for the clash this evening when asked by football.london whether Reiss Nelson and Emile Smith Rowe would be involved. The Arsenal manager is keeping everything very close to his chest for this huge match.
However, there has been some inside information released in the form of the club’s ‘Inside Training’ video. football.london has taken a look through the footage which provides some hints as to what the squad might look like on Wednesday evening.
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Reiss Nelson fully involved
The most immediate standout from the video is the full integration of Reiss Nelson into the training exercise. The winger has been absent from the squad since the December friendly match against Juventus where he injured his hamstring only days before the return of domestic football after the World Cup.
In the five vs five exercise shown in the clip, Nelson was the most advanced player on his side, closing down the likes of Rob Holding and Jakub Kiwior trying to win the ball up the pitch high. Mikel Arteta demands intense pressure from his forward as Nelson fights to convince the club he’s deserving a new deal.
Martinelli starting place hint
The five vs five exercise featured players on the fringes of the action for Arsenal. The aforementioned Nelson, Holding and Kiwior were used in the session alongside Takehiro Tomiyasu, Kieran Tierney, Matt Turner, Salah-Eddine Oulad M’Hand, Amario Cozier-Duberry and Fabio Vieira. The other two involved were Aaron Ramsdale, who despite being a starter helped fill the goalkeeper role in the drill, and Leandro Trossard.
Interesting that the Belgian was included in this exercise with the players not typically in the starting XI. This could be a significant hint that indeed Gabriel Martinelli will continue his role on the left wing for the game against Manchester City.
Many had suggested that Trossard was deserving of a starting spot after his goal against Brentford and bright display against the champions in the FA Cup defeat earlier this year. However, Arteta has been very loyal to his chosen team and looks set to continue this thread.
Arsenal keeping things quiet
And that was it. Just the one minute and thirty seconds of video showing a five vs five exercise with players on the fringes of the starting eleven.
Arsenal are certainly keeping things very quiet ahead of what is of course a hugely important game. These inside training videos are often much longer and feature drills with the usual suspects from the starting eleven but this time the club has opted for a very stand-off approach with this week’s clips.
In short, we cannot blame them for that. Better for the techniques and training drills used this week will be kept behind closed doors to give the Gunners’ title rivals as little as possible before the match.
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