Havertz and Zinchenko could be among the Arsenal changes vs Sheffield United

After two away games in succession, it is back to home comforts for Arsenal as they welcome Sheffield United to the Emirates Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Taking form and where the two teams currently sit in the Premier League table - 3rd vs rock-bottom - into consideration, all signs point towards a routine victory for the Gunners. However, it could be everything but comfortable as Mikel Arteta's side have struggled in this type of fixture over the past year.

In fact, the last opposition team to visit the Emirates propping up the table were Southampton and they left north London with a point - even holding a two-goal lead twice - as that six-goal thriller back in April was costly for Arsenal and their hopes of being crowned champions of England.

If anything, that fixture, the dramatic 3-2 win over Bournemouth from last season and even the 2-2 draw with Fulham earlier in this campaign, should serve as a reminder to Arteta's players that despite Sheffield United's lowly position, any sign of complacency can be punished.

As this is Arsenal's third game in the space of a week, not to mention they're in action four more times before the November international break, Arteta may look to freshen things up against the Blades and he could be in a position to welcome back a key player and avoid a major injury scare.

Whatever the Spanish tactician decides to do will garner some kind of response one way or another and it's important to keep in mind that he is guaranteed to axe at least three players from his matchday squad as rules in the Premier League differ from that of the UEFA Champions League.

Therefore, football.london takes a look at the changes Arteta could make to either his starting XI or matchday squad from the impressive 2-1 over Sevilla away from home in midweek as Arsenal return to domestic action by hosting Sheffield United at the Emirates on Saturday afternoon.Havertz on standby
Gabriel Jesus was outstanding for Arsenal against Sevilla. He produced a sublime turn inside his own half to set up Gabriel Martinelli for the opener before netting his third goal in as many appearances in this season's competition which ultimately proved to be the difference.

However, his night ended prematurely. Substituted nine minutes from time with a hamstring injury, Arteta didn't sound too positive when initially delivering an update: "Really sad because he felt something in his hamstring and I’m worried about that," the Spaniard told the media.

With that said, the Brazilian sounded much more upbeat about the situation and allayed any fears over a lengthy layoff: "I felt something. Let's see. I did some tests with the physio, it looks not that big, but let’s see," he told TNT Sports. "I have a scan, maybe tomorrow. I’m pretty sure it will be nothing."

Of course, if it turns out that the injury is nothing serious then one would expect Jesus to start against the Blades alongside Bukayo Saka and Martinelli thus allowing Arteta to name what many consider to be Arsenal's best attacking trio for only a third time this season.

But if the Gunners boss doesn't want to take any risks he can turn to Eddie Nketiah to lead the line - as has been the case on many occasions - Leandro Trossard or £65million summer signing Kai Havertz who has caught the eye in a centre-forward role of late so he's on standby to potentially replace Jesus.

Partey hope
Arsenal suffered an injury blow ahead of the Sevilla game when it was revealed Thomas Partey didn't travel to Spain because of a muscle problem. The severity of the issue is still unknown, at the time of writing, but when speaking on Tuesday night, Arteta sounded rather worried.

"Thomas picked up an injury yesterday in training," Arteta told TNT Sports ahead of kick-off at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium. "Unfortunately it's a muscle injury. We don't know the extent of it - a big miss for us."

Should Partey recover in time for the Sheffield United clash then he could feature. But his possible absence may mean another start for Jorginho. Having said that, with the Gunners expected to dominate possession, Arteta might consider dropping Declan Rice deeper and bringing in Fabio Vieira or Emile Smith Rowe in midfield.

Zinchenko for Tomiyasu?
No disrespect to the Blades, but they are the type of opposition - especially at home - where it's safe for Arsenal to adopt a more attacking approach and Oleksandr Zinchenko is arguably better suited to starting at left-back over the in-form Takehiro Tomiyasu as his technical prowess could be what's required to break down what's expected to be a packed defence.

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