Arsenal face off with West Ham on Boxing Day in their first competitive game since the World Cup.
The Gunners head into the game sat five points clear atop of the Premier League after a superb start.
However, Arsenal will have to face the Hammers without the services of Gabriel Jesus, who picked up a long-term injury at the WC with Brazil.
As for West Ham, they are down in 16th place in the Premier League and have lost four of their last five.
Predicted Arsenal line-up vs West Ham
Arsenal team news vs West Ham
Gabriel Jesus
Jesus picked up an injury vs Cameroon during the 2022 World Cup and looks set to be out for some time.
There is no return date set as of December 22: “With Gabby, it’s very difficult to put a timeframe [on his recovery]. It was a significant injury, and knowing him, I prefer not to give any dates away,” Mikel Arteta said.
Emile Smith Rowe
“Emile is close, he is starting to train again. He had a little setback, but he is in a good place.”
Reiss Nelson
Nelson suffered an injury during a friendly vs Juventus earlier this month. Mikel Arteta had this to say on the winger on December 22: “I’m talking weeks not days. He will be out for a few weeks. Let’s see how he reacts in the next few days. He felt something straight away and with sprinters that’s not a good sign.”
William Saliba
Saliba is not injured but did make it to the final of the World Cup with France. Arteta did not confirm if the centre-back would be fit for Monday: “Let’s see depending on how he comes back as well. We have the data on what he’s done in training in terms of minutes he didn’t participate much but it was a huge experience for him. Let’s see. When he gets back we’ll see.”
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