Arteta explains surprise Arsenal selection against Nottingham Forest as five changes made | OneFootball

Mikel Arteta made five changes to his starting lineup for Saturday’s Premier League meeting with Nottingham Forest.

Declan Rice has been dropped to the bench and replaced by Mikel Merino, while Riccardo Calafiori returns after over a month out to replace the injured Ben White.

Kai Havertz has also been named on the bench despite starting the season strongly, with Gabriel Jesus taking his place. Jorginho and Leandro Trossard also start in a surprise team selection from the manager.

Arteta explained why he changed almost half of his lineup ahead of kickoff at the Emirates Stadium, saying he is placing his trust in Arsenal‘s squad as they look for their first Premier League win since early October.

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Arteta explains surprise Arsenal selection against Forest

“First of all, it’s showing trust to all the squad,” he said. “That’s a big message that we have discussed a lot. And secondly, there are some physical conditions that are not optimal for certain players to start.”

Calafiori has been out of action since sustaining a knee injury against Shakhtar Donetsk on 22 October, but his return is a much needed boost for Arteta.

“Big player, really important for us,” he said. “We have been missing him for almost six weeks but he’s fully fit.”

Meanwhile, Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo sprung his own surprise by dropping Chris Wood from his starting XI, choosing to starting Taiwo Awoniyi instead. The striker travelled all the way back from Samoa after scoring a hat-trick for New Zealand in an 8-0 win.

Morgan Gibbs White was absent from the matchday squad entirely as he struggles to get over the ankle injury he incurred in early October.

“He’s not in the right moment,” Nuno said. “We’ve been taking care of him and we tried at the last moment. He had a knock in the Chelsea game. He has been trying hard but he’s not in the right position to play.”

Arsenal XI: Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori; Jorginho, Merino, Odegaard; Saka, Trossard, Jesus

Subs: Neto, Kiwior, Zinchenko, Partey, Rice, Sterling, Nwaneri, Martinelli, Havertz

Nottingham Forest XI: Sels; Aina, Milenkovic, Murillo, Moreno; Dominguez, Yates, Ward-Prowse; Elanga, Awoniyi, Hudson-Odoi

Subs: Miguel, Morato, Williams, Wood, Toffolo, Da Silva Moreira, Jota, Sosa, Boly

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