Our third Premier League fixture of the campaign takes us across London to the Emirates Stadium and Alonso has made two alterations to the side that started last weekend’s win over Brighton & Hove Albion.

One of those is in defence, with Josh Acheampong replacing Colwill in the back line, while Reece James steps into midfield in place of Malo Gusto.

When asked in his pre-match media interview why the change in defence had been made, Alonso replied: ‘Fitness. Levi had a little thing during the week, so we wanted not to take a risk at this stage of the season.’

On Caicedo's absence from the matchday squad, the Blues manager added: ‘He was close but, as well, there is no point in taking too many risks at this moment. Maybe we went too early against Brighton [with his return], so we need to be cautious.’

The Blues have made a strong start to the campaign, with back-to-back victories recorded in the top flight. Arsenal, who won the title last season, have the same record after two matches and Alonso accepts today's contest will be a good test for his developing side.

He said: 'We will see how it goes, but for sure, it’s game three for us in this new project that we are starting and we want to have a great game today.'