Arsenal predicted line-up vs. Brentford: Four big changes made plus updates on captain and £45m striker

Arsenal return to action on Saturday evening when they make the short trip across London to the Brentford Community Stadium – but Mikel Arteta will be missing at least five players for the match against the Bees as injury, suspension and even Premier League regulations conspire to constrict the Spaniard’s options.

It could be worse, too, with three key players nursing or returning from injuries, and Arsenal fans will face a nervous wait to see if Gabriel Jesus, Martin Ødegaard and Ben White are all available to start against Thomas Frank’s side.

We’ve brought together all the latest updates from Arteta and elsewhere concerning the Gunners’ various injuries, and all the latest team news and a predicted starting line-up can be found below.

Goalkeeper & Defence

When David Raya first took Aaron Ramsdale’s place between the sticks, Arteta promised that the two goalkeepers would be rotated – and will now be forced to honour that promise, for one game at least. Premier League rules prevent loanees from playing against their parent clubs, meaning that Raya is ineligible for the game against Brentford. Ramsdale will no doubt be extremely keen to impress.

He will hope to have White available in front of him, but the right-back missed the game against Burnley with an unspecified muscular injury and is still building back towards full fitness – Arteta has played his cards close to his chest and has not provided any hints as to whether he will be ready for Saturday, but training images appear to show him in good spirits. Jurriën Timber remains a long-term absentee thanks to a knee ligament injury.

Midfield

The bulk of Arsenal’s injury problems lie in midfield, with several players out or questionable for the game against Brentford. Club captain Ødegaard is perhaps the most significant – he missed both Norway games over the international break thanks to a hip problem, but is back in training and appears likely to play.

There are no real doubts over the status of three further players. Fábio Vieira is suspended after his red card against Burnley in the Gunners’ last Premier League game, Emile Smith Rowe is still making his way back from a recent knee injury and is unlikely to feature until December, and Thomas Partey has recently had surgery and won’t feature again until the new year, with his participation in Ghana’s Africa Cup of Nations campaign in doubt.

Happily, there are no apparent concerns over the condition of Bukayo Saka, who has limped out of matches twice in the past month or so but came through England’s last two qualification matches without any problems. Jorginho, who was taken off against Burnley thanks to cuts on his legs, is also fully fit and played without issue for Italy.

Forwards

Gabriel Jesus has missed Arsenal’s last three league matches, thanks predominantly to a minor hamstring issue – but was a surprise call-up for Brazil’s squad for the recent World Cup qualifying games against Colombia and Argentina.

The striker played no part against Colombia but played the full 90 minutes in the 1-0 defeat to Argentina, and appeared to come through that test unscathed – based on which, it seems very likely that Jesus will be fit enough to play a full role against Brentford as it stands.

Full predicted line-up vs. Brentford

Ramsdale; Zinchenko, Gabriel, Saliba, White; Rice, Havertz, Ødegaard; Martinell, Jesus, Saka.