Christos Tzolis won't face Leeds today. Mikel Arteta said he has "a muscle injury" and will be out for "a few weeks". Asked whether Tzolis was the worst of the three players who came back from international duty with knocks, he said: "Yeah, he's not available." Kai Havertz and Ezri Konsa are the other two, and Arsenal are monitoring both.
Tzolis set up two goals in the 3-0 Community Shield win over Manchester City on 16 August. By 19 September he had four assists from eight appearances. Losing a goalscorer hurts, but losing the player who's been making the chances hurts more, because whoever comes in can copy the runs and still not find the pass that turns a decent move into a goal.
Declan Rice is the one to watch. He stayed home from England for "load management" after starting all five league games. Arteta's explanation went further than that. Rice has "had a few issues since he came back from the World Cup," he said. "Hopefully tomorrow he's available." Arseblog News reads that as a hint there's more going on than rest, and it's a fair reading of Arteta's own words. I'd rather lose Rice for one lunchtime game than for October. Arteta does have Piero Hincapié back, along with Cristhian Mosquera and Max Dowman. Leeds have lost Joe Rodon and Daniel James. Jean-Matteo Bahoya and Harry Wilson are late decisions.
Arteta said far less about Manchester City. An independent commission found City guilty of 114 financial rule breaches, and the verdict landed over the international break. They've appealed and insist they're entirely innocent. Arteta joined Pep Guardiola's staff at City as an assistant on 3 July 2016. He wouldn't be drawn. He'd "respect the process", he said, while the appeal runs its course. Asked if he had a clear conscience from his time there, he said: "Yes." That's the right answer and the right length. Nobody needs Arsenal's manager refereeing a case that isn't finished.
Martin Ødegaard, the captain, expects the manager's new contract to give the squad a jolt of energy.
Brighton still stings. The 3-0 defeat at the Amex was Arsenal's first in the league since April. "The pain is still there in the tummy," Arteta said, calling it "a lesson for us". What it showed, he added, was "how thin the line is, from being exceptional to becoming very average". That's honest. Arsenal haven't played at home for more than a month, and sixteen of their first-team players were away with their countries during the break. Leeds arrive unbeaten this season, though they haven't beaten Arsenal since May 2003. Arteta wants the response at 12:30, and after Brighton he's entitled to ask for it.
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