Granit Xhaka has been ruled out of Arsenal’s Premier League clash against Southampton on Friday due to illness. The Swiss midfielder has been a key figure in Mikel Arteta’s side this season, having started all but one of the Gunners’ league games. Fabio Vieira has taken his place in midfield, with Arteta telling Sky Sports: ‘Unfortunately this morning Granit wasn’t feeling very well. I am excited to see Fabio Vieira in the starting line up.’
Oleksandr Zinchenko has also replaced Kieran Tierney at left-back, while Ruben Selles makes three changes to his side that were beaten by Crystal Palace last weekend, with Romain Perraud coming in for Arsenal loanee Ainsley Maitland-Niles who is ineligible to face his parent club.
Arsenal are largely expected to beat Southampton who are bottom of the table and four points from safety, but the Saints did manage to draw 1-1 with the Gunners in the reverse fixture back in October. A win tonight would put Arsenal seven points clear of title rivals Manchester City, albeit having played two games more than the Citizens who take on Sheffield United in the FA Cup semi-finals on Saturday.