Arsenal have found a solution to their problems up top as they welcome West Ham United to the Emirates this weekend.
With Kai Havertz joining Gabriel Jesus in being ruled out for the rest of the season, Mikel Arteta was forced to experiment with his side last weekend against Leicester.
With Leandro Trossard failing to finding his way through in a central role and Raheem Sterling ineffective on the left, Mikel Merino was called upon in another roll of the dice.
This time, it worked. With Trossard pushed wide and Merino operating as a makeshift centre forward, the Spaniard bagged two goals that ensured Arsenal remained in the Premier League title race for another week.
The Gunners boss will surely opt for that set-up from the start on Saturday afternoon with Ethan Nwaneri putting in a thrilling performance on the right of that attack.
Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli are still recovering from hamstring injuries and are not expected to return to mid-March, meaning Arteta’s new-look attack will likely remain in place for a few more weeks.
While his attacking options are severely depleted, Arteta has a near-fully fit squad elsewhere with Ben White returning to the squad last week.
Takehiro Tomiyasu remains unavailable however having managed just six minutes of football this season.
Arsenal are thought to be exploring a second knee operation for the defender which would surely end his season.
Arsenal trail Liverpool by seven points with the Reds in action against Aston Villa on Wednesday night.
Dropped points at Villa Park will make things very interesting and if Arsenal get the job done against the Hammers in Saturday’s early kick-off, they will be hoping for a favour from Manchester City who take on Arne Slot’s side at the Etihad on Sunday.
Should things go their way and Liverpool suffer defeat on the road in two tough fixtures, Arsenal could end the weekend four points behind the league leaders with a game in hand.
Raya, Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly, Odegaard, Partey, Rice, Nwaneri, Merino, Trossard
Arsenal vs West Ham kicks off at 3pm on Saturday 22 February.
Given it’s kick-off time, the match will not be broadcast live in the UK.
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