Arsenal drop double team news hint for Athletic Club as Mikel Arteta favourite set for new role

Arsenal return to Champions League action this evening as Mikel Arteta and his players take on Athletic Club in Spain. The Gunners continued their strong start to the season this past weekend with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Nottingham Forest at Emirates Stadium.

Another goal for Viktor Gyokeres and a third clean sheet were among the positives for Arteta. Still, he did lose Martin Odegaard for the second consecutive Premier League home game due to injury.

The Arsenal captain landed awkwardly on his shoulder two weeks ago in the win over Leeds United and fell on the same area against Forest. Despite playing three out of a possible four halves of football for Norway over the September international break, he was forced off after 18 minutes this past Saturday.

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With just three days between matches against Forest and Athletic Club, it was perhaps no surprise that Arteta ruled out the 26-year-old, among others.

"So, Gabi [Jesus], Kai [Havertz], Ben [White] and Martin [Odegaard] are out, unfortunately," he said in a press conference regarding the latest team news.

When asked if there was any update on Bukayo Saka, Arteta replied: "I think there's still quite a lot of things to go through. It’s very early to understand when and which week he will be available, but he will certainly push to be available as quickly as possible."

Noni Madueke has superbly filled in for Saka, while Eberechi Eze and Mikel Merino also started this past weekend despite not yet being in Arsenal's strongest XI. After scoring a hat-trick for Spain, the latter deserved his opportunity, and he could be set for another one in his home country.

On their social media channels, Arsenal posted a matchday graphic promoting the fixture with Merino front and centre. That action is often done by or for a player set for a prominent involvement.

The Spanish international replaced Declan Rice in midfield, but the latter is almost guaranteed to return, given his importance. He could even be deployed in a deeper role if needed, with Arteta having multiple new options in central areas.

Ethan Nwaneri has been making cameos in midfield, and fellow breakout star Myles Lewis-Skelly could be about to do the same. The 18-year-old was Arteta's first-choice left-back last season and performed admirably during his breakout campaign, but the shirt now seemingly belongs to Ricardo Calafiori.

His substitute appearances have been made in that position. Still, with Pierro Hincapie joining this past summer, there is plenty of depth, and he could, therefore, be handed minutes in his favoured midfield position.

With the quick turnaround, a start for Lewis-Skelly at San Mames Stadium is a real possibility, and another Arsenal post to social media furthered that.

If he is deployed from the off, it could be at left-back again, but Arteta may consider moving him into midfield as a starting position rather than inverting and thus ending up in central areas.