Arsenal vs. Nottingham Forest starting lineups confirmed as major Declan Rice, William Saliba calls made

Arsenal and Nottingham Forest have confirmed their starting lineups for Saturday's early Premier League kickoff at the Emirates Stadium.

Mikel Arteta reunites with former North London derby foe Ange Postecoglou in the capital, as the latter takes charge of his first match for the Tricky Trees since replacing Nuno Espirito Santo.

Arteta has made three changes to the team that lost 1-0 to Liverpool just before the international break, and the headline alteration is undoubtedly Declan Rice dropping down to the bench.

The England international is seemingly being spared for Tuesday's Champions League clash with Athletic Bilbao, so Mikel Merino keeps his place in the engine room after scoring a hat-trick for Spain against Turkey in World Cup qualifying.

However, the 29-year-old will seemingly shift over to the left eight role, as captain and creator-in-chief Martin Odegaard has unsurprisingly returned to the starting lineup following a shoulder injury.

Elsewhere in the hosts' XI, Eberechi Eze has been brought in for his first start as Gabriel Martinelli drops down to the bench, while Cristhian Mosquera starts at the back in place of William Saliba.

Saliba out of Arsenal squad as Postecoglou's first Forest XI revealed

The Frenchman returned to training on Friday following an ankle injury but has not made the squad, although Ben White is back on the bench after a knock, while new signing Piero Hincapie also features among the substitutes.

Meanwhile, Forest manager Postecoglou has made just the one alteration to the visitors' XI from Santo's final game - a 3-0 defeat at home to West Ham United two weekends ago.

The ex-Tottenham Hotspur boss has brought Morato into his backline following an injury to key full-back Ola Aina, who sustained a hamstring problem while representing Nigeria and is facing three months on the sidelines.

Loan signing Oleksandr Zinchenko cannot face his parent club, so Morato will seemingly operate at left-back, with Neco Williams switching to the right-hand side of the backline.

Nicolo Savona would have been an alternative option at the back, but the former Juventus defender is on the bench, as is Gunners academy product Omari Hutchinson.

Arsenal will rise to the top of the Premier League table with a win thanks to their superior goal difference over Liverpool, while 10th-placed Forest are seeking their first away win against the Gunners since 1989.

Arsenal starting lineup: Raya; Timber, Mosquera, Gabriel, Calafiori; Odegaard, Zubimendi, Merino; Madueke, Gyokeres, Eze

Subs: Arrizabalaga, White, Lewis-Skelly, Hincapie, Rice, Nwaneri, Dowman, Martinelli, Trossard

Nottingham Forest starting lineup: Sels; Williams, Murillo, Milenkovic, Morato; Anderson, Sangare; Ndoye, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; Wood

Subs: Victor, Luiz, Kalimuendo, Hutchinson, Yates, McAtee, Bakwa, Boly, Savona