Arsenal must put their last two results to one side this weekend if they are restable their Premier League title ambitions. The Gunners are now only four points clear of Manchester City, having held an eight point gap less than two months ago.
Mikel Arteta's side have given up a two-goal lead in the last two games against West Ham and Liverpool, drawing 2-2. The draws have allowed Man City to bear down on them ahead of next week's pivotal clash between the two sides.
This weekend presents the north London outfit a chance to go seven points clear of Pep Guardiola's side against Southampton. Arsenal welcome the relegation-threatened side on Friday evening with Man City not in Premier League action due to their participation in the FA Cup semi-final.
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Southampton are the joint-lowest goalscorers in the Premier League this season with only 24 goals, with midfielder James Ward-Prowse their top-scorer with only seven goals. If the Gunners are to keep Ruben Selles' side out, they may have to do it without William Saliba.
The Frenchman has missed the last four league games - in which Arsenal have kept zero clean sheets - after suffering a back injury in the Europa League exit to Sporting CP. Despite Arteta previously insisting he was optimistic that he would feature before the end of the season, there remains no timeframe on his return.
One player who the Gunners will be hoping will be fit enough to play on Friday is Oleksandr Zinchenko. The left-back was forced to watch the 2-2 draw with West Ham from the sidelines after suffering a slight muscle injury.
"He had a muscular issue at the end of the match at Anfield last week and he struggled in the last few minutes," Arteta said of his integral Ukrainian. "We assessed him and he wasn’t fit enough to play, and that’s why we have good players like Kieran to replace him."
It has since been reported by the Daily Mail that the versatile defender is set to return against Southampton, with the newspaper claiming the Gunners are 'optimistic' over his chances to feature.
Elsewhere Mohamed Elneny and Takehiro Tomiyasu are the only long-term absentees.
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