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Kieran Horn

Two ways Mikel Arteta's Arsenal can lineup vs Nottingham Forest amid Gabriel injury worry

Arsenal have won all seven of their competitive fixtures at the Emirates Stadium so far this season, and Mikel Arteta will be hoping his side can bounce back from their defeat on Thursday when they face Nottingham Forest at the Emirates Stadium this weekend.

PSV dealt the Gunners their second loss of the season in the Europa League three days ago after Arteta's side had to settle for a draw against Southampton.

Despite dropping points, Arsenal remained top of the Premier League table and can keep the gap between themselves and Manchester City with a win over Nottingham Forest on Sunday.

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As for team news, the Gunners are still without long-term absentees such as Mohamed Elneny and Emile Smith Rowe, while Oleksandr Zinchenko is struggling with a calf injury, is expected to miss out after not making the trip to the Netherlands.

Arteta has been fortunate not to need to change his starting XI too much this season with Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel just a few names who have started every league game so far this season.

However, the latter is a doubt for this weekend's game after he was seen limping down the tunnel of the Phillips Stadion following the defeat to PSV, with Daily Telegraph journalist Sam Dean noting he was 'grimacing in pain'.

With all that in mind, let's take a look at how Arsenal could line up against Forest.

Same starting Xl as Southampton

Arteta is unlikely to make many changes to his starting Xl unless his hand is really forced. Many were surprised when Takehiro Tomiyasu was preferred to Kieran Tierney after the Scotsman returned to the Arsenal squad for the 3-2 win over Liverpool.

The prognosis over Gabriel's injury is not yet clear, but if he is unable to start against Forest, the decision for Arteta should be relatively straightforward.

Potential lineup (4-2-3-1): Ramsdale; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Tomiyasu; Partey, Xhaka; Saka, Odegaard, Martinelli; Jesus

Tierney replaces Gabriel

With an important Europa League game against Zurich and London derby against Chelsea to come in the next seven days, even if Gabriel's injury is not deemed severe, Arteta may choose to not risk his Brazilian centre-back in a game the Gunners are strong favourites for.

The decision to bring in Tierney would make total sense, although it would require some shuffling of the Gunners' backline. Ben White, who has been deployed at right-back for much of this season, would partner Saliba, while Tomiyasu would switch from the left to the right of the back four, with Tierney then slotting into his favoured position.

Potential lineup (4-2-3-1): Ramsdale; Tomiyasu, Saliba, White, Tierney; Partey, Xhaka; Saka, Odegaard, Martinelli; Jesus

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