The race for the Premier League title intensifies as second-placed Arsenal travel to relegation-battlers Leicester City aiming to capitalise on Liverpool dropping points against Everton.<\/p>\n
The Gunners got some much-needed respite during their mid-season break which gave them time to reflect on their disappointing defeat last time out against Newcastle United in the EFL Cup semi-final.<\/p>\n
David Raya started that match in goal, his defence in front of him consisting of Jurrien Timber, Gabriel Magalhaes, William Saliba and Myles Lewis-Skelly which shipped two goals that night.<\/p>\n
Martin Odegaard, Declan Rice and Thomas Partey started their second successive match together as the midfield three.<\/p>\n
Another tried-and-tested combination of Gabriel Martinelli, Kai Havertz and Leandro Trossard have spearheaded Arsenal’s attack for the past two matches.<\/p>\n
Read More:\u00a0Families in Football: Justin and Gavin Hoyte<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Despite crashing out of both domestic cup competitions, Arsenal’s form has otherwise been strong.<\/p>\n The Gunners have four wins and two draws in their last six Premier League matches and they are flying in Europe having only lost one of their league stage matches.<\/p>\n Mikel Arteta has been adept at tweaking his tactics and personnel despite the sheer number of fixtures his team have faced over the past few months. This challenge has been exacerbated by injuries to key players which have hit the forward line hard.<\/p>\n But this hasn’t stopped Arsenal banging in the goals; they have scored 15 goals in their last seven matches in all competitions, firing five of those past Manchester City.<\/p>\n Defensively, the Gunners have kept just two clean sheets and have conceded seven goals in their last seven matches. This is a bit off-colour for the Reds who have the joint-best defensive record in the Premier League and the second lowest goals conceded in their Champions League stage.<\/p>\n Arsenal were hit with two new significant injuries; Kai Havertz is likely to miss the rest of the season due to sustaining a hamstring injury whilst taking part in the Gunner’s mid-season break in Dubai.<\/p>\n Gabriel Martinelli will also be unavailable for at least a month after suffering a hamstring injury against Newcastle United.<\/p>\n There was some better news from the Dubai training camp, with Ben White back working alongside with his team-mates.<\/p>\n Arteta said<\/a>: “Ben has been training more regularly now so we still have to manage his load a lot but he\u2019s going to be available yes.”<\/p>\n Other long-term Arsenal injuries include Bukayo Saka, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Gabriel Jesus.<\/p>\n The Arsenal boss ruled out an early return for Saka saying<\/a>: “It’s too early, he\u2019s in an early stage of the rehab, so when we get a little bit closer and he starts to do more demanding stuff and has more load, we will see where he is. There\u2019s no setback, he\u2019s fine.”<\/p>\nArsenal Recent Form and Tactics<\/h3>\n
Arsenal Injuries and Absentees to Consider<\/h3>\n