Raheem Sterling decision made as £42m man returns: Arsenal predicted XI v Aston Villa

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Arsenal will hope to make it two wins in a row this week when they host Aston Villa in Saturday’s Premier League encounter at the Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal, fresh from their North London derby win, will take on the last side that left the Emirates Stadium with three Premier League points.

Aston Villa are currently seventh in the table, having beaten Everton and Leicester City in their last two league games, along with West Ham in the FA Cup.

TBR Football looks at who Mikel Arteta could name in the Arsenal starting XI for the game against Unai Emery’s side.

READ MORE: David Ornstein says 'outstanding' £10m player is 'very keen' on joining Arsenal

Arsenal v Aston Villa team news

Arsenal defender Riccardo Calafiori remains a doubt after missing the past few games with a muscle complaint.

Gabriel Jesus is set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines after it was confirmed he has an ACL injury.

Bukayo Saka is out with a hamstring injury, Ethan Nwaneri is nursing a groin issue, and Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu are both out with knee injuries.

As for Aston Villa, John McGinn is set to miss the Arsenal game with a hamstring issue, while Ross Barkley is out with a calf injury and Pau Torres and Diego Carlos are long-term absentees.

Jhon Duran returned from suspension against Everton, while Emiliano Martinez was back between the posts after what Emery described as a "small problem".

Arsenal predicted XI v Aston Villa

Arsenal are unlikely to make many changes for the meeting against Villa.

David Raya is set to start in goal, and there’s a good chance the back line will be mostly the same as the one that took on Tottenham.

This would mean Jurrien Timber at right-back, William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes at centre-back, though Arteta has a decision to make at left-back.

Myles Lewis-Skelly has been impressive in that position. Indeed, Paul Merson has said Lewis-Skelly must now be one of the best in his position in the world at his age.

However, we feel Calafiori will return to the XI, the £42million man giving the Hale End graduate a rest.

The midfield is likely to be the same as the one that took on Tottenham, namely Martin Odegaard, Thomas Partey and Declan Rice.

As for the front line, we feel Arteta will opt to take Raheem Sterling out of the XI and name Gabriel Martinelli on the right side of attack.

Kai Havertz is likely to lead the line, while Leandro Trossard could retain his spot on the left.

Arsenal predicted XI v Aston Villa (4-3-3): Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori; Odegaard, Partey, Rice; Martinelli, Havertz, Trossard