Arsenal have the opportunity to close the three-point gap to the fourth position when they make the short Premier League trip across the Capital to face West Ham United.
Injury update:
The Gunners have been benefited by the recent FA Cup week which has allowed as many as six players to return to full training.
Nacho Monreal, Hector Bellerin, Mesut Ozil, Shkodran Mustafi, Konstantinos Mavropanos and Laurent Koscielny could feature for the team after recovering from respective injuries.
Formation: 4-2-2-2
Predicted Lineup:
Bernd Leno has been the undisputed choice between the sticks since the start of October and the German should once more command the role for the cross-town derby.
In defence, Hector Bellerin and Nacho Monreal are very likely to return on the right and left side of the backline and this should witness Ainsley Maitland-Miles and Sead Kolasinac drop to the bench at the least despite impressing during the festive period.
Sokratis Papastathopoulos has had a tough period juggling with central defensive partners and the same should be the case this weekend with Shkodran Mustafi likely to accompany him at the heart of the defence.
In the midfield, Granit Xhaka and Lucas Torreira have been the regulars in terms of commanding starting roles under Unai Emery and the duo should feature from the off after being offered a much-needed breather against Blackpool in the FA Cup.
Further forward, we are anticipating Mesut Ozil to return straight into the lineup after recovering from a knee problem and we are anticipating him to partner Alex Iwobi in the attacking midfield. The Nigerian has been in good form of late with a goal or an assist in four of the past five matches for the team.
Upfront, Unai Emery may go with a two-striker combination and this should witness Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette feature together with the latter recently ending a six-match goalless league drought against Fulham.
