Mikel Arteta has been boosted by the return of one key player as the Arsenal squad trained ahead of Saturday's Premier League clash with Brighton. The Gunners will be hoping to maintain their gap to reigning champions Manchester City at the top of the table with another positive result on Saturday, December 31.
Arsenal have enjoyed a strong season so far and currently lead the way by five points ahead of City, who beat Leeds United on Wednesday evening as Erling Haaland fired a warning to the Gunners. Gabriel Jesus is set to be out until February after suffering a knee injury whilst away at the World Cup with Brazil, handing Eddie Nketiah the chance to prove himself.
Goals from Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Nketiah sealed a 3-1 win over West Ham on Boxing Day as Arsenal picked up where they left off in the Premier League. The Gunners will hope that Mykhaylo Mudryk can complete a transfer from Shakhtar Donetsk as soon as possible to help reinforce Arteta's attack, along with a new central midfielder.
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football.london rounds up all the things that were spotted at the training session ahead of the clash against Brighton on New Year's Eve.
Takehiro Tomiyasu returns
Takehiro Tomiyasu has returned to first team training after taking part in individual sessions earlier this week. The Japanese defender was not part of the squad that beat the Hammers, but looks set to return for the game against Brighton.
The 24-year-old will be hoping that he has suffered the last of his injury woes this season as he looks to become a regular starter in defence.
Eddie Nketiah looking sharp
The young forward proved he can be a capable replacement during Gabriel Jesus' absence with a goal against the Hammers on Boxing Day. Nketiah threatened throughout the match and the confidence gained from that match is showing in training too.
The English striker was pictured dancing his way past two teammates, including club captain Martin Odegaard, as he aims to continue his goal scoring form heading into the Brighton match.
Fabio Vieira vs Oleksandr Zinchenko
Vieira is yet to nail down a starting spot in Arteta's team but he is continuing to put in the hard work in training. The Portuguese playmaker had the tough task of facing Zinchenko in the bib vs no bibs drill, with the Ukraine defender seeming to be in good spirits after a strong display against West Ham.
Arteta takes close look at academy prospects
Catalin Cirjan, Kido Taylor-Hart, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Taylor Foran, Ethan Nwaneri and Nathan Butler-Oyedeji were among the youngsters involved in first team training ahead of the match against Brighton on Saturday. Arteta has shown he is willing to give youth a chance despite the ongoing Premier League title fight with Man City, and he may look to involve some academy prospects in the squad that travels to Brighton.
Zinchenko conversation with Arteta
The two know each other well from their time together at City and they were spotted in deep conversation during training. Kieran Tierney started ahead of Zinchenko in the win against the Hammers on Boxing Day but the Arsenal boss may rotate his squad considering the busy fixture schedule ahead of them.
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