For the first time in a number of weeks, Mikel Arteta could be faced with an Arsenal squad selection dilemma ahead of this afternoon's (Sunday) clash against Nottingham Forest.
As it's a Premier League fixture at the Emirates Stadium, the Spanish tactician is once again permitted to name a 20-man matchday squad for the visit of Steve Cooper's side - one that knocked the Gunners out of the FA Cup at the third round stage last season.
Going off the club's official website, Arteta has 24 senior players at his disposal. What this means is that if everyone is fully fit and available for selection, the Arsenal manager will have to make a difficult decision on which four first-team stars he must leave out of his matchday squad.
READ MORE: Every word Mikel Arteta said on Nottingham Forest, Gabriel Jesus' goal drought and training woes
With Karl Hein often the odd goalkeeper out and Oleksandr Zinchenko joining long-term absentees Mohamed Elneny and Emile Smith Rowe in the treatment room in recent weeks, Arteta's decision was effectively made for him in games against Liverpool, Leeds United and Southampton.
Now, looking ahead to the Forest fixture, Zinchenko was not spotted in training once again, Smith Rowe is not expected to make a return to action until December at the earliest and as only one goalkeeper is required to be on the bench, it looks like 21 of Arsenal's 24 first-team players are in contention.
This is because Elneny made a rather surprising return in Saturday's training session at London Colney after nearly two months on the sidelines with a hamstring injury. His reaction on social media suggests he could be involved in some capacity: "So happy to be back with the boys," he wrote on Twitter. "Ready to fight."
Of course, any decision regarding Elneny being amongst the substitutes at the very least sits with Arteta as he may opt against rushing him back. But should he hand the Egypt international an immediate recall, then it will be at the expense of one player who made the trip to St Mary's last weekend.
It remains to be seen who could make way for Elneny, but the two senior players that immediately spring to mind are Cedric Soares and Marquinhos as the pair were often left out of matchday squads when Arteta had a near-clean bill of health at the beginning of the season.
Interestingly, it's worth noting that there was no sign of Granit Xhaka in the latest batch of pictures from Saturday's training session, although that could have been a case of the in-form goalscoring midfielder being missed by the photographer rather than anything else.
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