Gary Neville says he expects Noni Madueke to switch flanks and start on the right should Bukayo Saka be ruled out of Arsenal’s trip to Liverpool this weekend.
Saka lashed the ball home to double Arsenal’s lead in the side’s rampant 5-0 victory over Leeds, but was forced off shortly after half-time with a suspected hamstring injury.
The 23-year-old forward appeared in some discomfort as he lay on the turf at the Emirates and there were audible groans in the crowd as he made his way off the field to be replaced by Leandro Trossard.
Fortunately, Saka was seen clutching his left hamstring as opposed to his right, which he tore last season, keeping him sidelined for around three months.
Mikel Arteta confirmed after Saturday’s contest that Saka had likely sustained a ‘significant’ injury and the latest reports suggest the England international could be out of action for up to four weeks.
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To make matters worse for the Gunners, club captain Martin Odegaard also went off with an injury in the win and Arteta could be without both players against the champions.
Looking ahead to Arsenal’s clash with Liverpool, Neville attempted to predict what Arteta’s starting XI may look like – and the Sky Sports pundit thinks Saka’s absence could pave the way for Eberechi Eze to make his debut.
‘For me, Eze is going to come in on that left-hand side and I think [Viktor] Gyokeres is going to play up front,’ the former Manchester United and England right-back told Sky Sports.
‘I actually thought the minute that Saka went off and Madueke went to the right-hand side that all of a sudden he [Madueke] looked at home.
‘It’s a strange phenomenon to see a left winger play on the left side of midfield, we don’t see that too much because they’re always opposite-footed wingers now.
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‘But to see Madueke go over to that right-hand side with his left foot, I thought he looked a lot better for that five minutes or so that he was there.
‘So you’ll have Madueke, I think on the right, you’ll have Gyokeres up front and I think you’ll have Eze to the left.’
Turning his attentions to Arsenal’s possible midfield combination, Neville can see Arteta opting for the physicality of Mikel Merino if Odegaard is not fit enough to feature.
‘You’ve got [Martin] Zubimendi and you’ve got [Declan] Rice. And you’ve got Merino and you’ve got Nwaneri so you’ve got players,’ the eight-time Premier League winner added.
‘I think he’ll bring Merino in and what he’ll do is he will make it a lot stronger and a lot more physical.
‘That’s what I would do and I think that’s what Mikel Arteta will do. He’ll go with one of his more powerful players in there.
‘But you think of a midfield three or Rice, Merino and Zubimendi with Eze, Gyokeres and Madueke, that’s still a fantastic front six and they’ve got the best back five in the country at this moment in time.’
At the back, Neville has been especially impressed by Jurrien Timber’s start to the season having named the Dutchman as his man of the match versus Leeds.
‘They’ve got a really dependable backline,’ he went on.
‘I think Timber is a very good full-back and I thought he was outstanding when he came on at Old Trafford and I thought he was very good against Fulham.’
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