Arsenal face Chelsea on Wednesday evening in a crucial Premier League game that is likely to go some way to determining their top four hopes. The Gunners have lost their past three consecutive matches in the league and risk losing further ground on fourth placed Tottenham if they fail to secure a positive result at Stamford Bridge.
Mikel Arteta has spoken about the difficulties his team have faced in recent weeks but believes that their top four aspirations are still possible to achieve.
"Very difficult, because at this club it’s only about winning, and they were three different games, but with the same outcome," he said.
"We are extremely unsatisfied with that, we know that, we’re hurting, but at the same time we know how we lost and what we merited from those games are not reflected in the amount of points that we taken.
"We have to understand why we lost those games as well, but there is nothing to look back on. Everything is still to play for, our ambition is still in tact, our desire is still in tact.
"We know the challenge ahead and we’re going to go for it."
It's expected that Cedric Soares will continue at right back, with Takehiro Tomiyasu only recently back in full training. Ben White and Gabriel will start in defence and it's likely that Nuno Tavares will start at left back.
Granit Xhaka and Sambi Lokonga remain the likely midfield pairing with Martin Odegaard, Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka expected to feature.
Alexandre Lacazette could be involved in some capacity after recovering from a positive test for coronavirus, while a number of youngers will be named on the substitutes bench.
Predicted Arsenal XI: Ramsdale, Cedric, White, Gabriel, Tavares, Xhaka, Lokonga, Odegaard, Smith Rowe, Saka, Martinelli.
