With the World Cup finally over, there's little time to rest as a chaotic domestic footballing schedule is right around the corner. Arsenal sit top of the pile and five points clear of second in the Premier League, with hopes that their second half of the season can be just as fruitful as the first.
There will be concerns over whether they will be the same side without Gabriel Jesus though, with the Brazilian injuring his knee on international duty. The 25-year-old underwent surgery shortly after and will be on the sidelines for months before he makes his return to action.
“It’s a huge blow for us, obviously,” Mikel Arteta told the official Arsenal website. “He’s such an important player: he’s brought something very different to the team and it’s impossible to replace him. But we have other players, other alternatives and we’ll try to get that sorted. The transfer window is another option.”
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With the Spaniard believing there are other options, it remains to be seen exactly what he decides to do when his side face off against West Ham in their return on Boxing Day. However, he may have already dropped an early team news hint just days before the match.
That's because the Gunners played a behind-closed-doors friendly with Championship side Luton Town on Wednesday, drawing 0-0 in the end. However, it was a strong team named by Arteta, which could look similar to the team he names against the Hammers next week.
The side looked similar to the usual starting 11 this season, though Rob Holding played in place of William Saliba while Cedric Soares played left-back, with the absence of Kieran Tierney - who was rested - and Oleksandr Zinchenko. The current solution to the striker issue appears to be starting Eddie Nketiah, though one of Gabriel Martinelli or Emile Smith Rowe have been touted as a potential option there.
Arsenal team vs Luton: Ramsdale (Turner); White (Sousa), Holding, Gabriel (Foran), Cedric; Partey (Lokonga), Xhaka (Elneny), Odegaard (Cozier-Duberry); Saka (Vieira), Martinelli (Marquinhos), Nketiah (Cirjan).
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