Mikel Arteta's plans to secure Arsenal's return to the Champions League have been disrupted with injuries to both Kieran Tierney and Thomas Partey at a crucial stage in the campaign.
Whilst there is hope that the former will return to action before the end of the season to play some part in the top-four run-in, the Scotland international won't play again this term after undergoing surgery to correct a knee problem in order to get him fully fit for the start of the 2022/23 campaign.
As a result, Arteta won't be able to name what many consider to be his best Arsenal starting line-up for their remaining eight Premier League games against Southampton, Chelsea, Manchester United, West Ham United, Leeds United, Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle United and Everton.
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When taking into consideration that the Gunners' best run of form this season coincided with the Spaniard being able to put out a settled side week-in, week-out over the festive period and then again after the winter break, the worry is that Tierney's absence and a long spell for Partey on the sidelines could be too much to overcome.
But whilst it's mathematically possible for Arsenal to finish in the top-four or qualify for either the Europa League or the Europa Conference League, there's still plenty to play for this season and a core group of players whom Arteta can trust to seal a return to Europe has been revealed based around those he has given the most minutes to.
As per transfermarkt, the five Arsenal players with the most minutes have been revealed and it won't surprise many who makes the list as Benjamin White leads the way with 2,918 followed by Bukayo Saka (2,692), Aaron Ramsdale (2,610), Gabriel Magalhaes (2,575) and Martin Odegaard (2,387).
Interestingly, Tierney and Partey come in at sixth and seventh respectively which simply highlights the task at hand to replace the pair. With that said, Granit Xhaka's minutes are likely to increase as long as he keeps his discipline as his importance to the team has never been so high.
Provided there are no setbacks when Takehiro Tomiyasu returns to action, he is likely to replace Cedric Soares at right-back making it seven players who can be considered undroppable when it comes to Arteta naming his strongest starting XI for the remaining weeks of the season.
Of course, that leaves four spots up for grabs with the first being at left-back as Nuno Tavares has hardly put forward a strong enough case to replace Tierney. The fact he was overlooked in favour of Xhaka last weekend is a clear sign that he's not yet earned Arteta's full trust and Cedric Soares and Saka are other options for the role.
Partey's absence in midfield opens the door for Albert Sambi Lokonga to stake his claim with Mohamed Elneny as well as young players such as Miguel Azeez and Charlie Patino waiting in the wings for a Premier League debut.
The other two spots up for grabs are in attack to join Saka in the front three. Gabriel Martinelli and Emile Smith Rowe have been rotated at left-wing all season, but they can play in the same side with one in line to rival Eddie Nketiah for the centre-forward role as Alexandre Lacazette's poor recent form surely means his days as an automatic starter are numbered.
