Arsenal have a chance to stretch their legs at the top of the Premier League as they face West Ham on Sunday afternoon, but they will do so without William Saliba.
The French international has been out of action since March, when he suffered an injury in the Europa League meeting with Sporting CP. He is expected to return to play a part in the run-in, but the trip to the London Stadium comes too early.
Manager Mikel Arteta has a chance to complete a perfect run of London derby results, with his team winning their previous five without conceding a goal. It is also a chance to complete a league double over the Hammers after a come-from-behind 3-1 win on Boxing Day.
""William is still not available," Arteta said in his pre-match press conference. "He’s progressing well and we are hopeful that we are going to have him available in the next few weeks but we’ll have to see."
With Takehiro Tomiyasu also out injured, though, Arteta's options are rather limited at the back. Here, Mirror Football looks at how the Gunners are likely to line up in East London.
Goalkeeper and defence
“He doesn’t play regularly and there’s a reason for that," Roy Keane told Sky Sports of Rob Holding, who has been deputising for the injured Saliba. "There’s obviously better players in his position at the club.
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“I’m not his biggest fan, I have to say. He’s no doubt a good pro. I think I worry at this level, his real lack of pace, I think sometimes he gets too tight to people.”
That said, the former Bolton man is likely to keep his place alongside Gabriel at centre-back, with Ben White and Oleksandr Zinchenko rounding out the four-man back-line in front of Aaron Ramsey. Jakub Kiwior is still relatively untested in the middle, while there's little to suggest now is the time to pick Kieran Tierney on the left ahead of Zinchenko.
Midfield
Thomas Partey, Martin Odegaard and Granit Xhaka operated as a midfield three in the reverse fixture, and there isn't much of an argument for changing that. Arsenal have no more cup responsibilities, so there's no issue of keeping their best players fresh for other competitions.
The Gunners will have options from the bench, with Jorginho among the senior stars likely to be available if Arteta decides he needs to freshen things up. Fabio Vieira and Emile Smith Rowe were both among the subs at Anfield last weekend, but neither of them - nor Jorginho - made it onto the pitch.
Arteta also has the option of moving Zinchenko into midfield and starting with Tierney on the left of the back four. However, the tried and tested trio seems like the likeliest move.
Attack
Eddie Nketiah started the reverse fixture, with Gabriel Jesus returning injured after the World Cup. The Brazilian is now back, though, and his recent form suggests he'll continue to lead the line.
Either side of Jesus will be Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli, both of whom were on target when the Hammers visited North London in December. Martinelli also scored both Arsenal goals in their last game, and only four players have more Premier League goals this term than the wide man's 14.
"He’s got another year of experience, he’s got a huge understanding now with his teammates," Arteta said of Martinelli ahead of the game.
"The way he approaches every single session, the way he approaches his training, his life - he just has to be the best. When that happens, and you have the consistency that he has in how he deals with every situation in every day, only good outcomes are going to be in front of him. I’m not surprised about that, and he has still a lot of things to improve on."
Arsenal predicted XI: Ramsdale; White, Gabriel, Holding, Zinchenko; Partey, Xhaka, Odegaard; Saka, Martinelli, Jesus.
