Arsenal XI vs. Southampton—FA Cup Quarterfinal: Injury News, Predicted Lineup

The Premier League leaders may be slightly depleted as they look to book another Wembley trip.

Declan Rice and Martín Zubimendi were among those to withdraw early from international duty. | Catherine Ivill/AMA/Getty Images

Arsenal will hope to dust off the cobwebs of their Carabao Cup final defeat to Manchester City by beating Southampton to secure a place in the last four of the FA Cup.

The Gunners, after a bright enough start, were cast aside by Manchester City in a 2–0 defeat—Pep Guardiola’s side being their closest contenders in the Premier League title race—to fuel fears of a late-season wobble. With no more international slates scheduled to disrupt rhythm, Arsenal’s task is now to try and win the three pieces of silverware they remain in contention for.

First up is a red-hot Southampton side in the FA Cup quarterfinals, and it’ll be interesting to see the side Mikel Arteta is able to call upon after a spate of injury withdrawals over the international break.

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Ten Players Withdraw From International Duty

Noni Madueke (left) and Bukayo Saka also withdrew from international duty. | Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC/Getty Images

Cynics have suggested the sheer volume of Arsenal players to withdraw from international duty was anything but bad luck.

Those who did pick up niggles have seemingly avoided major issues, so there’s every chance that some will play a part this weekend. However, Arteta will be keeping an eye on the first leg of Arsenal’s Champions League quarterfinal against Sporting CP next week.

It seems likely that Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka and Martín Zubimendi will all earn rests, while the knee injury sustained by Noni Madueke for England could keep him out this weekend. Jurriën Timber and Eberechi Eze both missed the Carabao Cup final, and the latter is expected to miss much of April as a result of a calf issue.

Captain Martin Ødegaard has endured another spell on the sidelines with a knee injury, but there’s hope he’ll be back in action very soon. It’s not yet clear when Mikel Merino will return after he underwent foot surgery at the start of the year.

Ben White, William Saliba, Gabriel, Piero Hincapié and Leandro Trossard are also dealing with knocks.

• ⚠️ Key absentees, doubts: Mikel Merino, Martin Ødegaard, Ben White, William Saliba, Gabriel, Jurriën Timber, Eberechi Eze, Piero Hincapié, Declan Rice, Martín Zubimendi, Leandro Trossard.
• 🔢 Predicted formation: 4-2-3-1

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Arsenal Predicted Lineup vs. Southampton (4-2-3-1)

Arteta won’t rush back all of those with supposed niggles. | FotMob

GK: Kepa Arrizabalaga—Arteta seemingly believes he owes his No. 2 plenty, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if Kepa retains his place for another domestic cup outing, despite producing another Carabao Cup final blunder two weeks ago.

RB: Cristhian Mosquera—With White and Timber both potentially out injured, Arteta is more likely to trust Mosquera, who just earned his first Spain call-up, over teenager Marli Salmon, who started in the fifth round at Mansfield Town.

CB: William Saliba—Saliba’s dodgy ankles must be looked after, but he could be included in Saturday’s team by necessity. This isn’t a cup tie Arteta will want to lose, given what happened at Wembley.

CB: Gabriel—There was no North American excursion for Gabriel over the break, with Brazil playing a pair of games in the United States. His fitness setback doesn’t seem significant enough for him to miss out here, even if further respite wouldn’t go amiss.

LB: Riccardo Calafiori—Poor Calafiori had a wretched break. Despite fighting tooth and nail to take the game to penalties with 10 men, Bosnia & Herzegovina prevailed in the shootout to condemn Italy to their third apocalypse. The Azzurri haven’t featured at the tournament they’ve won four times since 2014.

CM: Christian Nørgaard—Nørgaard has been a mainstay in the domestic cups for the most part, and he’ll likely get the nod on Saturday. He also won’t be playing at the World Cup after Denmark lost to Czechia in the playoffs.

CM: Myles Lewis-Skelly—Opportunities have come few and far between for the academy starlet this season, but much-needed rests in midfield mean Lewis-Skelly, a transfer target for Manchester United, may get the chance to impress in his preferred role.

RW: Max Dowman—The teenage sensation dazzled for England U-19s over the break, and will surely make a second consecutive FA Cup start.

AM: Kai Havertz—The German’s partnership with Viktor Gyökeres didn’t work in the final despite early promise, and he could perform more of a natural No. 10 role against the Saints.

LW: Gabriel Martinelli—Despite racking up plenty of flight hours, Martinelli may be forced to start on Saturday night in Trossard’s potential absence. He’s been productive in the cups this season.

ST: Gabriel Jesus—A euphoric Gyökeres will be preserved for the meetings with his former club in Europe, so there should be an opening for Jesus in the starting lineup.

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