Arsenal will be hoping to avoid further suspension concerns on Thursday evening as Kai Havertz is set to miss the clash with West Ham following a tally of five yellow cards in the Premier League this season. The Gunners are looking relatively light in some areas during a busy festive fixture list, with hopes of coming out of it unscathed.
The side have firmly put themselves in the mix to lift the trophy in May, currently sitting second but with a game in hand over rivals Liverpool that could allow for a leapfrogging. A draw with the Reds last time out kept things tight around the top, while Aston Villa are also in the mix.
Current champions Manchester City have been far from their best so far, but they have history of starting slowly before hitting some form in the second half of the campaign. One deciding factor between all of these teams could be squad depth and the options available to them, which relates to injuries and possible January transfers too.
«Well at the moment, it is very difficult,»Mikel Arteta said on squad depth and possible exits ahead. «We are really short. We have positions that we have been very exposed for the last six weeks and hopefully we are going to get players back. In what condition and when? That’s a question mark as well because we have some long-term injuries still for certain players that give us a lot of versatility and that’s an issue.»
Fortunately for Arteta, most of his players have been pretty well-behaved with the referees and their discipline, despite what the perception of the side may be. That has been a huge boost in them keeping as many players available as possible, given recent suspension issues elsewhere.
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