Arsenal defender Oleksandr Zinchenko may have hinted at his involvement in the team ahead of his side's clash with West Ham on Boxing Day. It would mark a huge boost to Mikel Arteta in his options available in the squad as they return to Premier League action after six-weeks away.
The Gunners left the division top of the table, five-points clear of second-place and current champions Manchester City in an unlikely title challenge. It remains to be seen whether they will pick up where they left off, needing to overcome a struggling Hammers side. who have had a slow start by their recent standards.
Unfortunately for Arteta, he has a few issues in his team coming back from the break, with a few injury issues throughout. Gabriel Jesus is one of those who is set to miss months of action, while the break offered a chance for Zinchenko to regain some fitness, though he had some setbacks.
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The Ukraine international has been riddled with injury issues, but the fixture may have come just in time for him to make a return to action. Arteta didn't explicitly say whether he would be involved though, telling reporters: "Alex is progressing well."
However, Zinchenko may have hinted at his involvement in the clash by dropping a team news hint on social media ahead of the game. On his Instagram story, the defender posted a pre-match hype graphic that featured himself, the game ahead and all the details beforehand.
While this doesn't always necessarily mean players will start, it may well suggest that he will feature in some capacity for the Gunners, coming as a potential boost.
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