Arsenal are finally back in Premier League action on Monday night after a two-week-long international break.
The Gunners are in the midst of a heated battle to qualify for next season's UEFA Champions League, a competition they haven't played in since March 2017. Next up for Mikel Arteta's men is Crystal Palace, who they drew 2-2 with in the corresponding fixture at the Emirates Stadium back in October.
The Eagles are unbeaten in each of their last six matches across all competitions, with their most recent outing coming against Everton the FA Cup quarter-finals, a match they comfortably won 4-0. Ahead of the highly-anticipated match at Selhurst Park, Arteta will be sitting down with the media on Thursday afternoon to answer questions regarding his players and any injury updates he can provide.
READ MORE: Ramsdale update, Arteta captain call: 3 things spotted during Arsenal's friendly vs Brentford
Here, football.london takes a look at three main things that Arsenal supporters will be keen to find out from the Spaniard's chat with the media.
Injury concerns
The Gunners faithful will be desperate to find out if any of Bukayo Saka, Aaron Ramsdale and Takehiro Tomiyasu will be fit for the trip to south London. Saka scored the only goal during the club's last outing, a 1-0 victory against Aston Villa but he since tested positive for Covid-19 - causing him to miss England's friendlies against Switzerland and Ivory Coast.
Meanwhile, first-choice goalkeeper Ramsdale picked up a hip injury ahead of the aforementioned match at Villa Park, with Arteta claiming that the 23-year-old would miss the next few weeks of action. Speaking to BT Sport 12 days ago, he said: "Aaron Ramsdale had a muscle injury and will be out for a few weeks."
German shot-stopper Bernd Leno deputised in the Englishman's absence, producing an excellent save to deny Phillipe Coutinho a late equaliser but the former Bayer Leverkusen's well-documented poor distribution will make fans keen for Ramsdale to return as soon as possible. Similarly, the fitness of right-back Takehiro Tomiyasu will be another talking point for the Arsenal manager.
The Japanese international has been struggling with injuries to both of his calves and hasn't played since the 2-0 defeat against Liverpool back in January. Experienced defender Cedric Soares has done a solid job in Tomiyasu's absence but the former Southampton ace is nowhere near as accomplished with the ball at his feet.
Substitution rules verdict
The Times reported on Wednesday afternoon that Premier League clubs are set to agree to the five substitutions rule being allowed from next season. The issue, which has previously been rejected, is reportedly set to be voted on once again at a Premier League stakeholders meeting in London.
If the vote goes ahead, each team would be permitted to make up to five changes during a match, something that Arteta has previously been a huge advocate of. Speaking about the issue in 2020, he said: "I think the most important thing at the moment is the welfare of the players and the best way to protect them and have options to protect them is to have the option to extend the substitutes
"So it’s like yes, we’ll give you a little bit of this so that you can have an extra two on the bench but not the option to change. We are the only ones doing that and for me that doesn’t make a lot of sense but obviously, it’s not up to us."
It will be interesting to find out what the 40-year-old now thinks on the topic.
Team hints
Arsenal fans will be listening intently to Arteta's press conference in case the former Manchester City assistant coach drops any team news hints. A number of fringe players performed well during the international break, with Nicolas Pepe standing out. The Ivory Coast winger scored a brilliant solo goal against 2018 World Cup winners France.
The club's record signing hasn't started a Premier League match since the turn of the year but could be handed a chance on the right flank, especially if the aforementioned Saka isn't fully fit.
