Arsenal enjoyed a tight victory over Crystal Palace on Sunday afternoon to move even further ahead of their Premier League title rivals.
With Liverpool and Manchester City being beaten, the vibe has shifted more so in the Gunners’ favour as their hopes of finally ending their long wait for the top-flight crown grow.
That being said, they have managed to come through these first nine games with a lead in spite of the injuries suffered by key players. Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, Piero Hincapie, Kai Havertz, Ben White and Noni Madueke have all dealt with issues that have kept them from playing.
Then, in their win over Palace, as many as four players suffered problems, while Bukayo Saka was ill all week and had to be taken off 65 minutes in. With that in mind, football.london takes a look at the injured quartet and discusses which player will fill the void when they face Brighton in the League Cup fourth round on Wednesday.
William Saliba
As William Saliba was replaced at half-time on Sunday afternoon, it will likely be the man who came on who starts against Brighton. Cristhian Mosquera has been a surprise package for the Gunners and will replace the Frenchman as comfortably as he did at Anfield earlier in the season.
Gabriel Martinelli
The winger would have been a shoe-in for a start in midweek while Leandro Trossard has kept him out of the Premier League starting eleven. If they wish not to risk the Brazilian winger it would make sense therefore for the Belgian to continue featuring unless they wanted to move Eberechi Eze wise and start Ethan Nwaneri in the central role.
Riccardo Calafiori
Either of Piero Hincapie or Myles Lewis-Skelly are options to replace Riccardo Calafiori who has thankfully had a clean campaign which was not the case last season. After Gabriel Magalhaes rushed to be fit following a problem suffered against Atletico, it might be that Hincapie starts in the centre pairing in his stead with Lewis-Skelly out wide.
Declan Rice
Declan Rice, the set-piece king, will be a real miss if he is absent from the match with Brighton after going down holding his lower right leg. It seems to be either an Achilles or calf issue. Mikel Merino is the obvious replacement, but Viktor Gyokeres will again play in the striker role, with Kai Havertz unable to come in yet.