Arsenal lineup vs. Nottingham Forest: Predicted XI for Premier League clash as three change 

Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta could have William Saliba at his disposal for Saturday’s early Premier League kickoff with Nottingham Forest at the Emirates.

The Gunners lost the France international to an ankle injury five minutes into their 1-0 loss to Liverpool two Sundays ago; he suffered a sprain in the warm-up but tried to carry on before calling it quits.

While reports from France have suggested that Saliba will be sidelined for up to four weeks, conflicting claims recently emerged, and those earlier claims are now known to be wide of the mark.

Arteta revealed on Friday that Saliba had taken part in team training, but with Athletic Bilbao and Manchester City on the horizon, the Spaniard should err on the side of caution; Cristhian Mosquera is instead poised to make his first Premier League start in his teammate’s place after a stellar showing at Anfield.

The ex-Valencia man will line up alongside David Raya, Jurrien Timber, Riccardo Calafiori and Gabriel Magalhaes in an otherwise unchanged defence, although Ben White might return from a knock to offer Arteta another option.

In spite of his magnificent hat-trick for Spain against Turkey, Mikel Merino will make way for a fully-fit Martin Odegaard, who rejoins Martin Zubimendi and Declan Rice in a first-choice engine room.

Noni Madueke and Viktor Gyokeres are nailed-on to start in attack while Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz recover from injuries, but Gabriel Martinelli’s spot in the side will surely come under threat from Eberechi Eze owing to the Brazilian’s mediocre display against Liverpool.

Arsenal possible starting lineup:

Raya; Timber, Mosquera, Gabriel, Calafiori; Odegaard, Zubimendi, Rice; Madueke, Gyokeres