Arsenal have stepped up their preparations for Saturday's trip to Southampton - a fixture of huge importance following back-to-back defeats since Premier League action resumed after the March international break.
By the time the Gunners kick-off at St Mary's they could find themselves six points behind north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur in the top-four race as Antonio Conte's side host Brighton and Hove Albion in the day's early kick-off and recent form points towards a home win.
Regardless of what happens at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Arsenal can ill-afford to slip up this weekend considering their Champions League qualification credentials will be put to the test with back-to-back games against Chelsea and Manchester United to end the month.
READ MORE: Pablo Mari gives Arsenal the green light to complete transfer to avoid £7.4m bonus payments
The good news for the Gunners is that recent history with the Saints favours them. The corresponding fixture last season ended in a 3-1 victory, whilst the reverse meeting earlier in the campaign saw Mikel Arteta 's side emerge with a 3-0 win - and that came after back-to-back losses at Man United and Everton.
A third straight win over Southampton will be exactly what the doctor has ordered to ensure Arsenal get back on track in the top-four race and before the big Premier League game, Arteta and his coaching staff put the Gunners squad through their paces during a training session at London Colney on Wednesday afternoon.
As per usual, media footage has been released to get fans in the mood. Here's what we spotted from the video and the training pictures and what it tells us ahead of the game against Southampton on Saturday afternoon.
Arteta's big decision
Scoring goals has been a big issue for Arsenal under Arteta ever since he was appointed and failure to address it could prove costly in the top-four race with Spurs suddenly finding a clinical edge which has seen a massive 13-goal swing between the north London rivals over the past two games.
As a result, the onus is on the Gunners to find a response. Problem is, Alexandre Lacazette hasn't netted from open play in 2022, Eddie Nketiah hasn't scored a Premier League goal this season, while Nicolas Pepe and Gabriel Martinelli have two goals between them in the calendar year.
Therefore, it was no surprise that Arteta made a big decision for Wednesday's training session by ordering extra shooting practice for his misfiring forwards as well as Emile Smith Rowe and Martin Odegaard. Now the task is to repeat the trick when it really matters at the weekend.
Lacazette absent
With that said, the one player who probably needs to brush up on his finishing the most wasn't actually present for the session. As of writing, it's unclear as to why Lacazette was absent, but he may now be a major doubt for the trip to St Mary's.
Many eagle-eyed Arsenal fans can attest to when a player isn't spotted in training ahead of a game, it's usually an indicator they won't feature. This has happened on several occasions this season with Smith Rowe and Takehiro Tomiyasu - absent once again on Wednesday - in particular. Of course, with a couple more training sessions penciled in before facing Southampton, there's every chance Lacazette could be involved in some capacity.
Wonderkids called up
As revealed by football.london this week, A rteta has integrated several youngsters into the Arsenal first-team squad as he looks for solutions to the club's current injury crisis with Tomiyasu, Thomas Partey and Kieran Tierney on the sidelines.
Marcelo Flores, Mazeed Ogungbo, Charlie Patino, Miguel Azeez and January transfer window signing Lino Sousa were the players mentioned, but Wednesday's session saw three more get called up as Zak Swanson, Omari Hutchinson and Mika Biereth were involved with the main group once again.
Considering the Gunners will be without at least three first-team players against Southampton, there will be some academy stars on the substitutes bench at St Mary's as Arteta must name a 20-man matchday squad to adhere to Premier League rules and guidelines.
Line-up theory?
Arteta usually doesn't give too much away in training. But he may have dropped a hint over recalling Nuno Tavares to the Arsenal starting line-up on Saturday after overlooking the Portugal U21 international in favour of Granit Xhaka at left-back against Brighton last weekend.
There's an argument that if Tavares can't get a start in the next three games whilst Tierney is injured then his time in north London could be over. But he may well get a chance at redemption after being hauled off in the first half on his last two starts against Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace.
Going by the bib and non-bib theory, from around the 2.59-minute mark in the 'Behind the scenes at Arsenal training' video uploaded to YouTube, a mini-match is in session and the likes of Odegaard, Saka, Xhaka, Benjamin White and Gabriel Magalhaes - players expected to start on Saturday - were not wearing a bib and neither was Tavares.
Furthermore, Albert Sambi Lokonga was also without a bib and was alongside Xhaka in the clip which could be a sign that the Switzerland international will be moved back into his natural position thus paving the way for Tavares to start at left-back. Although, the fact that the defender was later wearing an orange bib means nothing is guaranteed.
