Who will replace Declan Rice in Tottenham vs Arsenal?

Arsenal face Tottenham Hotspur away from home after the September international break. They will be without Declan Rice, who serves a suspension after being red-carded against Brighton.

The decision to send Declan Rice off was certainly soft, but this is the letter of the law. Therefore, Arsenal must not mope about the soft call and instead, they must crack on with the cards they are dealt.

Tottenham away is a difficult fixture to navigate at the best of times, let alone with Arsenal being without one of their best players. However, they won away last season, so they will hope for a similar performance.

So, what could Arsenal's midfield look like at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the absence of their club record signing?

Who will replace Declan Rice in Tottenham vs Arsenal?

The truth is that there aren't many options. It must be considered that Mikel Merino is also unavailable for this game, due to the summer signing being injured.

Also, Arsenal offloaded many midfield players in the summer transfer window, which could come back to haunt them in this fixture. Mohamed Elneny left to join Al Jazira, Emile Smith Rowe joined Fulham and Fabio Vieira joined Porto on loan.

Therefore, it is likely to be Jorginho who replaces Declan Rice in the Tottenham vs Arsenal fixture. Jorginho is one of the senior players at Arsenal and Mikel Arteta is clearly a big fan of him.

Jorginho thankfully remained at Arsenal during the summer transfer window, despite being of interest to other clubs. The Italian midfielder has had a great 2024, hence Arsenal's decision to keep ahold of him and even extend his contract.

Without a doubt, his composure will be required in the midfield. However, other players will need to step in, since the thought of a Jorginho and Partey pivot in defensive situations is not great.

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