Now that the dust has settled on Arsenal's 2-2 draw against West Ham United last weekend, the focus shift towards a potentially defining five-day period in the Premier League title race.
For the first time since before the international break, the Gunners are up first. In fact, they have the chance to take advantage of Manchester City being in FA Cup semi-final action by beating Southampton on Friday night and then heading to the Etihad Stadium with a seven-point lead at the top of the table.
But after being accused by Jamie Carragher of becoming too arrogant when leading 2-0 at Liverpool and West Ham before going on to surrender the lead in both games, it's important Arsenal do not look too far ahead as they can ill-afford to drop points at home to a side battling relegation.
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With that said, Mikel Arteta might be tempted to freshen things up where possible. Injures in defence are duly noted but he is spoilt for choice in attack and the options have increased following Eddie Nketiah's return to action after six weeks on the sidelines with an ankle injury.
Furthermore, the likes of Emile Smith Rowe, Fabio Vieira and Reiss Nelson will be pushing for starts. Although Arsenal's issue against Liverpool and West Ham wasn't scoring goals, so there's a strong argument that this is the one department that doesn't need to be addressed against the Saints.
So, as Arteta mulls over who to select in a bid to get his side back on track in the title race, football.london has taken a look at what changes the Spanish tactician could be contemplating from the side that started the 2-2 draw with West Ham, especially after having five days preparation.
Zinchenko return
Oleksandr Zinchenko missed the 2-2 draw against West Ham with a slight muscle issue and the decision to leave him out of the matchday squad was made in an attempt to avoid aggravating the problem even further and Arteta delivered an update ahead of kick-off.
"We assessed him and he wasn’t fit enough to play, and that’s why we have good players like Kieran to replace him," the Arsenal manager revealed.
The fact that Zinchenko travelled with the squad to the London Stadium and was spotted sitting behind the substitutes bench suggests the injury isn't too serious and amid reports that he will be available for selection on Friday night, one would expect him to replace Kieran Tierney at left-back if passed fit.
Trossard and Jorginho recalls?
Mikel Arteta caused quite a stir with his substitutions against West Ham, particularly withdrawing Gabriel Jesus in the second half when the Brazilian was certainly Arsenal's most dangerous attacker. Now, it could be that the striker's fitness is still being managed carefully which would explain the decision.
As for Thomas Partey, he was partially at fault for Said Benrahma scoring from the spot after needlessly conceding possession in a dangerous area after trying to flick the ball over Declan Rice and he struggled thereafter so it wasn't too much of a surprise when he came off.
Leandro Trossard and Jorginho got the call on Sunday as Arteta looked to regain some control after his side were pegged back to 2-2 but whether they'll be upgraded to starters against Southampton remains to be seen.
Saliba hope
It's now four games in a row that William Saliba has missed as he continues to be sidelined with a back problem that saw him limp out of last month's Europa League round of 16 tie against Sporting CP. Despite sitting out the London derby, the hope is that the Frenchman will play some part in the run-in.
"William [Saliba] is still not available," Arteta said ahead of the West Ham game. "He’s progressing well and we’re hopeful that we’ll have him available in the next few weeks. We’ll have to see," the Spaniard added. "He’s not far off starting to do that [being back on grass]. Obviously, we need to be cautious because of the injury but he’s evolving well."
The sight of Saliba doing gym work with Mohamed Elneny has sparked excitement amongst some Arsenal fans. But there's been no indication that he will be in a position to earn a recall to the matchday squad for the Southampton game, although an update should be provided later in the week.
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