Arsenal have the squad depth that can help the team be more unpredictable, manager Mikel Arteta said, as the north London club look to open up a five-point lead at the top of the Premier League table when they host Everton on Wednesday.

Arsenal lead the league standings with 57 points after 24 matches, two points above second-placed Manchester City who have played a game more. “The fact we have options right now, that we have players coming back from injury is going to be crucial because players cannot maintain the same level for 10 months, it is just impossible,” Arteta told reporters on Tuesday.

“We need to change and be more unpredictable and we have those options now.” A win over Everton would take Arsenal’s tally to 60 points after 25 league games, making them just the third Arsenal side in history to achieve this.

“That means nothing,” Arteta said, adding that there would still be 13 games more to be played. Arsenal have lost only three league games this season, including a 1-0 defeat at Everton on February 4. Arteta said his side would aim for a better performance this time against Sean Dyche’s team.

“It is a case of doing things better than we played them a few weeks ago and earning the right to win the game,” he added. Midfielder Thomas Partey is unlikely to start against Everton after the midfielder came off the bench in their 1-0 win over Leicester City at the weekend, having missed two games due to a lower back injury.

“He has not trained much, he’s only had a session,” Arteta said. “He will train today. He was out for a few weeks, and he needs to get the rhythm.”

‘Strong jaw’

Everton need to show a ‘strong jaw’ away from home if they are to succeed in their bid to avoid relegation from the Premier League, according to manager Sean Dyche. The Merseyside club fell back into the bottom three after a 2-0 home defeat by Aston Villa at the weekend.

Dyche’s first game in charge of the club after replacing Frank Lampard was a surprise 1-0 win over Arsenal at Goodison Park earlier this month, thanks to a James Tarkowski goal. But Everton have not won on the road in the league since October 1 and Dyche knows that relying on their home form alone will be a risky strategy for survival.

“Most teams have stronger home forms for all kinds of scientific reasons but it’s about the consistency of performances home and away,” he told a news conference. “We want our players to have a strong jaw and an edge to their play away from home.”

Silva injury

Chelsea centre-back Thiago Silva has damaged the ligaments in his knee and will undergo rehabilitation, the club said on Tuesday.

The Brazil international picked up the injury in the first half of their 2-0 defeat at London rivals Tottenham Hotspur in the league on Sunday. The 38-year-old underwent further assessment and a scan on his return to the training centre on Monday, the club said.

Reuters