In explaining why Jurrien Timber started at centre-back rather than right-back in pre-season against Manchester United, Mikel Arteta suggested that he viewed the triangle of Ben White, Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka as sacrosanct.

Prior to Tuesday’s match at the Emirates, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta will hand a late fitness test to Ben White, who has been absent from the last two games with a groin injury, while Riccardo Calafiori will also be assessed after he suffered a knee problem in Saturday’s stoppage-time victory against Leicester.

Arsenal's Jurrien Timber has echoed Manchester City's Rodri in raising the alarm over the gruelling football schedule, labelling it "dangerous" and revealing that fixture congestion is a hot topic among the Gunners squad.

Arsenal's Dutch international defender Jurrien Timber has spoken out on the amount of games players are being asked to play following recent comments from Man City star Rodri