Arsenal take on Sporting CP in the second leg of their Europa League round of 16 matchup this evening.
The north London outfit played out a thrilling 2-2 draw in Lisbon last week after making numerous changes to their regular starting XI, with the likes of Matt Turner, Fabio Vieira and Reiss Nelson all handed rare starts whilst Jakub Kiwio made his first-team debut for the Gunners. Mikel Arteta's side then went on to secure a hugely impressive 3-0 victory away to Fulham on Sunday afternoon, restoring their five-point lead at the top of the Premier League table.
That visit to Craven Cottage also saw the long-awaited return of star striker Gabriel Jesus following a lengthy spell on the sidelines due to a knee injury. Fellow attacker Leandro Trossard also recovered from a groin problem, albeit a much less serious issue.
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Martin Odegaard and Kieran Tierney both missed the first leg against Sporting due to being under the weather but they have since recovered and will be fully fit to face Ruben Amorim's men this evening. That leaves Arteta with a fully fit squad other than backup striker Eddie Nketiah, who picked up an ankle knock recently that will rule him out until after the international break — late March to early April — football.london understands.
Fellow Hale End academy graduate Emile Smith Rowe should be fit enough to start tonight, although Arteta told the 22-year-old that he has to 'prove' himself if he wants to be involved more regularly. "Now he needs to prove it and how much he wants to win and how much he’s going to contribute to this team to be better," the Spaniard said in his pre-match press conference.
"He’s gonna have to show that to get in the team." With all of that being said, football.london takes a look at all of the players available for this evening's match.
Goalkeepers: Aaron Ramsdale, Matt Turner.
Defenders: Ben White, Gabriel Magalhaes, William Saliba, Rob Holding, Jakub Kiwior, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Kieran Tierney.
Midfielders: Thomas Partey, Martin Odegaard, Emile Smith Rowe, Fabio Vieira, Jorginho, Granit Xhaka, Matt Smith.
Forwards: Gabriel Jesus, Bukayo Saka , Gabriel Martinelli, Reiss Nelson, Leandro Trossard.
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