An injury to Martin Odegaard on international duty has rocked the Gunners and left Arteta with a big decision to make in his first XI.
Leandro Trossard has been tipped to replace Odegaard in the XI, but there are other options as well, including moving someone like Kai Havertz further back.
Of course, should Havertz move into the midfield would open up a spot in the front three and whether Trossard fills it, remains to be seen.
Arsenal do have other options in there, including Gabriel Jesus and youngster, Ethan Nwaneri.
And speaking of Jesus, one former striker has suggested the Brazilian might well look to move on if he isn’t picked this weekend and beyond.
Gabriel Jesus of Arsenal celebrates after scoring the third goal during the pre-season friendly match between Arsenal and Bayer 04 Leverkusen at Em...
Gabriel Jesus could leave Arsenal
Speaking on TalkSPORT about Arsenal’s attacking options ahead of facing Tottenham, Saunders got onto the subject of Gabriel Jesus.
And speaking about the Brazilian, Saunders has suggested Jesus could look to leave if he doesn’t start being picked from the off soon.
“I keep thinking to myself, how long is Jesus going to put up with not playing?,” Saunders said.
“I think he is a really good footballer. He obviously doesn’t score enough goals, otherwise he wouldn’t be looking for a striker, but how long is he going to sit on the bench at Arsenal without saying, listen, enough is enough?
“How many games is he going to give it?”
Jesus needs to stake a proper claim
Arsenal paid £45m to sign Gabriel Jesus and while he has been a big signing for the club in general, his goalscoring hasn’t quite hit the heights they wanted.
That’s led to suggestions Arsenal should have signed Ivan Toney this summer and in a way, they’ve let 20-25 goals a season go.
Injuries have also hampered Jesus’ progress and now he’s back fit, it’s about him getting minutes and when he does, ensuring Mikel Arteta cannot leave him out.
As it stands, and so far in his Arsenal career, he’s not quite done that.
But what better way to make a mark than being the hero in a North London derby this weekend.
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