Inxysmart

Lineup hint, Mustafi patched up, 4 wonderkids involved - Things we noticed in Arsenal training (See Comprehensive Pictures)

The Gunners have been taking part in their final training session before the Tottenham clash 

It is the big one for Arsenal and Tottenham fans - the North London Derby.

But, with both teams struggling this season, the main thing on the line is pride and who will finish higher in the Premier League tbale and perhaps secure a Europa League spot over the other.

It will be the first North London Derby inside the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but perhaps crucially for Arsenal there will be no fans inside, making it a much more manageable atmosphere to cope with.

Ahead of the game, the Gunners have been in training and the Getty photographers have captured the final session before Sunday's match for us.

Here's what we noticed.

Mustafi patched up
Defender Shkodran Mustafi was in the wars on Wednesday night after taking a kick to the face from Jamie Vardy during the 1-1 draw with Leicester City at the Emirates.

It was a controversial moment, with VAR getting involved, but not showing the frontman a red card. He would go on to score a controversial equaliser too, much to the dismay of the Arsenal supporters.

Mustafi had a large gash across his face following the incident, but it was not something that could be seen in training.

That's because the big German had it patched up. He was sporting a lovely plaster on the side of his face during the session, to cover up the scar.

I wonder what he will look like at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday.

Lineup hint
The training photos gave a little bit of insight into the team Mikel Arteta could choose to face Spurs on Sunday.

You can never fully tell exactly what is going on and how the training session is set up, but there were hints, if you choose to believe them.

Eddie Nketiah is pictured in the training session, but he is unavailable for selection against Spurs, having been sent off against Leicester. He is pictured wearing a grey bib and that could suggest others wearing that colour will not be in the starting XI.

There are players in grey bibs and blue bibs going through a rigorous regime - perhaps a training match ahead of the real thing.

And with Kieran Tierney and Hector Bellerin with blue bibs on, head coach Mikel Arteta could be reverting to four at the back, or perhaps utilising Bellerin as a right wing-back - a role Cedric has been playing.

Rob Holding, Sead Kolasinac and David Luiz were all donning blue bibs, which could suggest three at the back, as were Bukayo Saka, Granit Xhaka, Joe Willock, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette.

Wonderkids involved
As is often the case with Mikel Arteta training sessions, a number of young players got their chance to show what they could do.

And the final session before Tottenham was no different.

Trae Coyle, Matt Smith, Harry Clarke and Zech Medley were all given a runout, although it remains to be seen which, if any, will earn a spot on the bench for the big game.

Winning team
There are often mini games played during training sessions.

And the photos from training show the Arsenal players in high spirits at least.

After a difficult start to the Premier League restart,. the Gunners have enjoyed a fine run of form and go into the North London Derby in much better shape than their hosts.

In terms of the matches on Saturday, pictures clearly show Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Eddie Nketiah, Alexandre Lacazette, Nicolas Pepe and Reiss Nelson enjoying a win of some kind.

As we go into the game, we sit 8th in the Premier League table, two places and one point above Tottenham, who are currently 10th.

Mikel Arteta put the squad through their final training session on Saturday afternoon - and the club photographer was there for the images below.
Source: Arsenal.com and football.london

No comments:

Post a Comment