Viktor Gyokeres will return to the Arsenal starting lineup when they take on Club Brugge in a UEFA Champions League clash at the Jan Breydel Stadium on Wednesday.

Arsenal will be eager to return to winning ways and widen the gap at the top of the UEFA Champions League standings when they lock horns with Club Brugge at the Jan Breydel Stadium on Wednesday night. Mikel Arteta has new roster issues to worry about ahead of his side’s latest fixture.

Declan Rice has missed the trip to Bruges due to illness, while Leandro Trossard is dealing with a knock. Arteta is also sweating over Riccardo Calafiori’s fitness, and the trio accompanies Gabriel Magalhaes, William Saliba, Cristhian Mosquera, and Kai Havertz in the treatment room.

However, Gabriel Jesus is in the UEFA Champions League squad after replacing Max Dowman, who sustained an ankle injury in an outing with the North London club’s under-21 team. Meanwhile, during his pre-match press conference, Arteta provided fitness updates on Saliba, Rice, Trossard, and Dowman.

The Arsenal boss said, “No, so Declan was ill. He was quite sick after the game, and he hasn’t travelled with us. William is still not available, and Leo again picked another knock in an area where he had the issue, and I don’t expect that it’s going to be long, but unfortunately, he cannot be here.”

“Yes, so first of all, unfortunately, Max [Dowman] picked up an injury last weekend and had to come off. So he did some scans and he is going to be out for weeks and then we have the situation of Gabi [Jesus], who we were expecting to be training with us by the end of December. Gabi has been pushing every single day and he kept telling everybody ‘I am going to be earlier, earlier, earlier’ and he has done it.”

“So thanks to his work and all the work that the medical staff have done in all these months, and we had the possibility to make a swap there and we have done it. Yes, on one side, you see Max and the situation and on the other, you see the joy and how happy Gabi is to be back in the Champions League.”

Arteta also expressed his frustration at the number of injuries in his squad. The Arsenal boss said, “Yeah, a big one. I mean, losing Max again, it’s obviously not ideal with Leo, who is just coming back, that we have to manage the minutes.”

“Willy is still not there. We’ve not got Big Gabi, and we have other players that they could only play certain minutes. Like, for example, Riccy [Calafiori] the other day. But it’s a situation that we have managed since the beginning of the season. We are in December, so it’s been almost five months in a remarkable way, and we’re going to continue.”

David Raya is an automatic pick between the sticks, with Arsenal lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him against Club Brugge on Wednesday. The backline will feature Ben White, Jurrien Timber, Piero Hincapie, and Myles Lewis-Skelly.

As for the midfield unit, Mikel Merino should start in the double pivot alongside Christian Norgaard, with Martin Zubimendi getting some rest. Ethan Nwaneri will reprise the no. 10 role, with Noni Madueke and Gabriel Martinelli being the two wide attackers. Finally, Viktor Gyokeres will lead the line for the away side against Club Brugge. So, Bukayo Saka, Eberechi Eze, and Martin Odegaard will be backup options on the bench.

Predicted Arsenal XI: Raya; White, Timber, Hincapie, Lewis-Skelly; Norgaard, Merino; Madueke, Nwaneri, Martinelli; Gyokeres