Arsenal have now been tipped to drop a key member of the starting eleven for their looming opening day clash against Manchester United in the Premier League this weekend.

Mikel Arteta is poised to do battle with Ruben Amorim at Old Trafford on Sunday, with the north Londoners ending their pre-season preparations as they gear up for yet another title challenge.

Nothing but a perfect start will do for Arsenal, having watched a plethora of their nearest rivals in Liverpool, Chelsea and Man City all splash hundreds of millions on a plethora of summer signings to bolster their squads.

Gunners sporting director Andrea Berta has been a busy man too, investing north of £200 million on six major signings, with Kepa, Martin Zubimendi, Christian Norgaard, Noni Madueke, Cristhian Mosquera and star striker Viktor Gyokeres all making the move to N5.

It is shaping up to be one of the most competitive Premier League campaigns in history, and especially near the top of the table, with many standout contenders already making themselves known after productive transfer windows.

“I think on the physical part we’re in a really good place,” said Arteta after Arsenal’s final pre-season game against Athletic Bilbao.

“I think we have competed against very different opponents in different contexts, in different countries, so it’s been a really complete pre-season. You constantly learn and evolve in the team, that’s not going to stop now because this is the last test of pre-season. On Monday we’ll continue to work on things, on things that we have to develop and improve from today, from the last few games, and other things that we want to still do. And especially the integration of the new players to make sure that we create such a bond and spirit in the team that we can compete against the opposition.”

Arteta has a few imperative decisions to make ahead of Arsenal’s face-off with United in Manchester, who are under a significant amount of pressure themselves to make a good start to 2025/2026.

Arsenal tipped to drop Myles Lewis-Skelly for Man United

Journalist Charles Watts, speaking to CaughtOffside, is convinced that Arteta could even drop star left-back Myles Lewis-Skelly for the clash.

The 18-year-old enjoyed a stellar breakthrough campaign last season, with his performances at full-back earning Lewis-Skelly both calls to the England squad and a brand-new long-term contract.

The rising star teenager played 23 Premier League games last year, starting 15 of them, and was handed the nod by Arteta in their blockbuster Champions League ties against Real Madrid and PSG.

Lewis-Skelly has been called “incredible” by the likes of Gary Neville after his rise to the first-team, and he’s now become a key player for them.

However, Watts believes that Lewis-Skelly will be axed for United in favour of Riccardo Calafiori.

“I think who starts at full-back this weekend will be interesting for Arsenal. There is a real competition in those positions,” said the reporter.

“When he’s been on the pitch Riccardo Calafiori has looked very good. I really enjoyed his performance last weekend and if he’s deemed fully fit I think he might get the nod at left-back over Myles Lewis-Skelly.

“It’s a tough call, but Lewis-Skelly hasn’t looked at his best yet this summer, so I would not be surprised if Arteta goes with the Italian to try and negate the threat of Bryan Mbeumo and also cause problems up the other end.”

Calafiori suffered various injury problems across 2024/2025, which hampered the Italian’s game time, but if he can stay fit, Arteta will have a seriously star-studded left-back rotation at his disposal.