William Saliba is closing in on his first Arsenal appearance of the season as the Gunners travel to Slavia Prague in the Champions League tonight, while Max Dowman is pushing to start.
Dowman was absent from the Gunners' 1-0 win over Liverpool at Anfield as he served the first of a three-match suspension following his late sending off in the Carabao Cup defeat by Fleetwood. That ban only applies to domestic competition, so Dowman is in contention to feature in the Czech Republic, where Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta is expected to rotate his side.
Saliba closing in on return
Saliba travelled with the squad on Tuesday afternoon as he pushes to show he is ready to make his first appearance of the campaign. The Frenchman is back in training and has recovered from the back injury that has kept him out for the entire season so far.
Arteta said at his pre-match press conference that Saliba is "ready to go". "Now you're in or not," the Spaniard said. "Now he's in. He's in like anybody else. All the preparation has been done to make sure all the load and all the steps have been done to minimise the risk. He's in a really good place, he's built the capacity that we needed. Now it's about giving him minutes."
Expected changes in Prague
Ben White is likely to start in Prague as Arteta continues to split the right-back minutes, while Cristhian Mosquera could come in to allow Ezri Konsa a rest. The same goes for Piero Hincapie at left-back, with Arsenal keen to manage Riccardo Calafiori's workload.
In midfield, Myles Lewis-Skelly and Mikel Merino will hope to start, and there is a decision for Arteta over whether to rest Declan Rice. The Arsenal boss could start him and then bring him off if the match situation is comfortable in the second half.
Eberechi Eze has been dealing with a minor injury, but that is not expected to be an issue in Prague and he is set to start on the left, with Christos Tzolis only just back from a hamstring issue and unlikely to start twice in four days.
Predicted lineup
Kai Havertz took his chance up front at Anfield by scoring the winner, but Viktor Gyokeres has started two of Arsenal's three Champions League matches so far this term and is expected to lead the line here.
Predicted Arsenal XI vs Slavia Prague (4-2-3-1): Raya; White, Mosquera, Gabriel, Hincapie; Rice, Lewis-Skelly; Dowman, Merino, Eze; Gyokeres
Injured: Saka. Doubt: Saliba. Time and date: 8pm GMT on Wednesday November 4, 2026. Venue: Fortuna Arena, Prague. How to watch: TNT Sports.
