Arsenal's frantic March continues this weekend when they make the short trip to Craven Cottage to face Fulham three days after travelling to Portugal to face Sporting CP.
The Gunners drew 2-2 with the Portuguese outfit to position themselves in good stead to qualify for the Europa League quarter-finals in the return leg next week. Mikel Arteta's weren't at their usual best at the Estadio Jose Alvalade and were punished for their continued defensive issues against Ruben Amorim's side.
William Saliba's first-half header was cancelled out by Goncalo Ignacio before Paulinho gave the hosts the lead. Arsenal were fortunate not to fall two goals down with Paulinho sent a wayward effort wide before Hidemasa Morita's own goal levelled the scoreline.
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Arteta made six changes to the side that came from 2-0 down to defeat Bournemouth at the weekend. Matt Turner, Ben White, Jakub Kiwior, Granit Xhaka, Jorginho and Reiss Nelson were all handed starts by the Gunners boss.
There was no room for Gabriel Jesus in the matchday squad despite participating in training. The Brazilian is near to completing his recovery from a knee injury suffered at the World Cup but Arteta has insisted he will not rush the forward back.
"We will try not to rush him back, we will try to make a fair assessment between what he needs and when is comfortable and as well giving the team a boost that it’s going to need in the next few weeks for sure," Arteta said.
"Everything is going well, he needs time as well to get himself that confidence and that physical state that is necessary to compete with a free mind and once he’s free to do that, we will throw him in."
When the Brazilian does return to the matchday squad continues to be uncertain. There had been optimism he would maybe feature on Thursday following his intensity in training but next week's return leg now looks the perfect chance.
Watchful Arsenal supporters will also be holding their breath on the condition of Martin Odegaard. The Gunners skipper missed the game against Sporting due to illness, football.london understands, despite travelling to the Portuguese capital.
The illness seems to be doing the rounds through the London Colney camp with Fabio Vieira, who played the full 90 minutes in Lisbon, being replaced by Gabriel Martinelli for media duties because of a sore throat.
"In other moments we had total control of the game and we lost a little bit of threat today, especially with the four players we are missing in our frontline (Odegaard, Jesus, Trossard and Nketiah)," Arteta said.
Defender Kieran Tierney also missed the game in Portugal, with the Scotland international also suffering with an illness. It remains to be seen when the left-back will recover and return to the matchday squad.
Two players whose likely return date continues to be unclear are Leandro Trossard and Eddie Nketiah. The pair were nowhere to be seen on Thursday after Arteta's comments pre-game. "It is a worry, he came to me straight away and said he couldn't continue, he'd felt something when he was tracking back, so we had to take him off," he said about Trossard after his injury against Bournemouth.
"We are assessing him," Arteta said on Nketiah. "It's a bit uncertain what will happen with him to be honest in the training sessions. Let's see, let's keep the options open. He's very positive about it and hopefully he'll be fine."
On a positive note, Emile Smith Rowe gained more valuable minutes on the pitch, playing 20. The forward has now featured in the last three games for the Gunners after missing the whole of February.
Mohamed Elneny remains out, meanwhile, as he continues his recovery from a knee operation.
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