Arsenal drop major Europa League Zurich team news hint…

Arsenal drop major Europa League Zurich team news hint amid Reiss Nelson form and player returns

After suffering just their third defeat of the season against PSV in the Europa League last week, top spot in group A is on the line as they welcome Zurich to Emirates Stadium on Thursday.

Mikel Arteta has relied on the same core group of players in Premier League action and their Europa League battles so far this season, with Granit Xhaka and Bukayo Saka among the players to feature in all 17 of Arsenal's games this campaign.

The latter of those names may be afforded a rest though after Saka limped off in the first half of the rampant victory over Forest at the weekend with Reiss Nelson replacing him and staking his claim for a more consistent role in the Arsenal team after scoring twice and grabbing an assist.

Summer signings Fabio Viera and Marquinhos have both had opportunities to impress Arteta in the Europa League and push for more minutes in England domestically. Still, neither have really taken the initiative with the forward trio of Martin Odegaard, Saka and Gabriel Martinelli on all but one occasion selected to play behind Gabriel Jesus.

Saka was quite a significant doubt for Thursday's clash but concerns about the severity of his injury were lowered after he was spotted in Arsenal first-team training on Wednesday.

While the Gunners will want their best team on the pitch with top spot in the group seeing them bypass the round of 32, Arteta may want to ensure Saka is ready for the huge London derby against Chelsea at the weekend and after Nelson's cameo he has a suitable replacement.

And Arsenal themselves have dropped a major team news hint for Thursday's game posting on social media Nelson's first goal from the weekend with the caption 'onto Thursday night, @ReissNelson9'.