Martinelli to start up front: How Arsenal could line up vs Everton

Arsenal hosts Everton at the Emirates Stadium on Friday, following their weekend match against Fulham. Mikel Arteta is expected to choose a squad that is as similar as possible to the one he wants to take to Villarreal the following Thursday – injuries permitting.

For starters, he'll want to get them going as soon as possible, and there's enough time between games to give them plenty of rest. Everton, on the other hand, is a difficult opponent, and Arsenal will have to play well to get a win.

Here’s our expected Arsenal lineup for the Everton clash.

Matt Ryan, the goalkeeper, made a surprise start in goal against Fulham and didn't put a foot wrong. He also contributed to Arsenal's equalizer with his hand (or head). But he wasn't really put to the test, and you'd think Bernd Leno would return for this one.

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Defending

Even if you believe Gabriel Magalhaes is Arsenal's strongest central defender, and I'm not sure I disagree, Pablo Mari and Rob Holding are unquestionably the most powerful available center-back pairing.

Mari and Holding, for whatever reason, seem to complement each other better than Gabriel and Holding. Mari and Gabriel have never been seen together, and it doesn't appear that they will now.

Calum Chambers is expected to return at right-back, while Granit Xhaka is claiming the left-back spot in Kierney's absence due to injury.

Mohamed Elneny was brought in for the last game to give Thomas Party a rest, but Elneny didn't contribute enough, so the switch would likely be reversed for this one. With Xhaka in goal, Party will almost certainly be partnered by Dani Ceballos once more.

At the time of writing, there is still no word on Martin Odegaard's return, so Emile Smith Rowe will most likely get the nod in the No. 10 spots.

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Bukayo Saka, a forward who has rediscovered his best form in the last week or two, should be a lock for a start. Ideally, he’ll get Nicolas Pepe opposite him, considering how well that worked away to Slavia Prague.

To begin with, it will largely rely on who is available. Alexandre Lacazette is likely to miss time with a hamstring injury, but Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang may recover from a malaria infection.

However, it's possible that this game will come too soon for him, leaving Gabriel Martinelli, Eddie Nketiah, and Folarin Balogun as options to start in the middle. Despite Nketiah's goal against Fulham, I believe Arteta will choose Martinelli over Nketiah.