With an almost fit squad, Mikel Arteta has a fascinating balancing act to manage with his Arsenal team selections this week. The Gunners are wary they must win at Brighton on Saturday to keep the pressure on in the Premier League title race but also know that they will need their strongest lineup against Bayern Munich in their first Champions League quarter-final in 14 years on Tuesday.
It’s the kind of fixture list the Spaniard would have been dreaming of when he arrived at the Emirates Stadium in 2019. That doesn’t make it any less high-stakes to manage though.
Complicating the matter even further is the need to manage the fitness of various key players. Bukayo Saka, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Gabriel Martinelli, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Gabriel Jesus and Thomas Partey are all carrying injuries or just coming back from one.
That will be no excuse for Arteta if he gets his team selection incorrect, however. HereĀ Gistnest takes a look at who the Spaniard may pick to get the job done at the Amex on Saturday night.