Wolverhampton, Jan 25 (IANS): Arsenal skipper Martin Odegaard has not been included in Arsenal’s squad to face Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Molineux Stadium on Saturday as the Norwegian midfielder is out with sickness. He is one of five changes to the side that beat Dinamo Zagreb on Wednesday, with Mikel Arteta choosing to rotate half of his outfield players for Premier League action at Molineux.

Both Mikel Merino and Odegaard miss out completely, so Gabriel will take the captain’s armband. It’s also the big Brazilian defender’s 199th appearance for the North London side.

Speaking shortly before kick-off, Arteta confirmed, "Martin was ill this morning and we had to send him back -- he was nowhere near fit to play. Mikel as well, because he got a knock and couldn’t make it yesterday for training.”

William Saliba is back in the starting lineup to face Wolves after missing the Gunners’ last two matches with a slight injury which is a huge boost for the side. Since the start of 2022-23, Arsenal have conceded just 0.8 goals per game when William Saliba starts, compared to 1.7 when he doesn’t. The Gunners have kept just two clean sheets in their 13 games without the Frenchman starting in this run.

Myles Lewis-Skelly returns at left-back after missing out in midweek, while fellow Hale End product Ethan Nwaneri is also in the lineup. It’s his first start since scoring away to Brighton at the start of the year, though he did come on against Dinamo in midweek. Thomas Partey and Leandro Trossard are the other two players coming into the side after they were used from the bench on Wednesday.

Line-ups:

Arsenal: Raya, Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly, Partey, Rice, Nwaneri, Trossard, Martinelli, Havertz.

Wolves: Jose Sa, Doherty, Agbadou, Bueno, Ait-Nouri, Andre, Nelson Semedo, Joao Gomes, Sarabia, Strand Larsen, Matheus Cunha.