Arsenal are set for a huge few weeks in their pursuit of the Premier League title this season, with some key fixtures on the horizon. The Gunners saw their large gap over rivals Manchester City dwindle after three games without a victory, but a return to winning ways over Aston Villa was a boost to the side.
Another boost was a result across the midlands in Nottingham, where Forest grabbed a late equaliser against City to ensure the current champions dropped points. It restored the Gunners to the top of the table with one game in hand, putting their fate firmly in their hands once again.
It has provided yet another twist to a title challenge that has plenty more in store over the coming months as the season reaches its climax. For Mikel Arteta, the next few weeks could be crucial to ensure that it ends in celebrations for his side, with some key fixtures coming up.
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Next up is Leicester City, who have bounced back from recent relegation concerns, but aren't out of sight as of yet. Following that is a midweek game against Everton, which happens to be the side's game in hand over their rivals against an opponent they lost to earlier this month.
Three days after that is a home clash with strugglers Bournemouth, so on paper they are all winnable games that could see the north London outfit extend their lead. However, Arteta faces some key decisions in ensuring it plays out exactly as he would hope in all three.
The main one is rotation and how much he shuffles his pack due to the fixture congestion that is coming up, having recently rested Gabriel Martinelli for the Villa clash. Leandro Trossard came in for him and has impressed in his cameos so far, but the Brazilian showed from the bench exactly why he has been the first-choice so far.
"It’s not dropping him," the Spaniard insisted when asked about starting Martinelli on the bench. "He’s played every single minute. You don’t see players at his age doing that. We have three 21-year-olds leading the front line. It’s unheard of.
"Leo [Trossard] has been doing really well and we needed impact. I was really worried about the last 25 minutes of this game after everything that we put on Wednesday. We needed energy and we needed a player that could do that. I thought we did it."
That's already one issue to decide upon over the next few games, but there's also the return of Emile Smith Rowe to factor in. The winger has been plagued with injury concerns all season, but it seems as though he could be back in time for the clash with Leicester after featuring in the squad against Aston Villa.
An eased return is to be expected. However, the minutes available to him with others pushing for a spot in attack may be limited, and Arteta has some huge decisions to make.
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