Arsenal have one more game before the October International break as they take on Southampton at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Arsenal will hope to continue their unbeaten start to the season, and fresh from a 2-0 victory over Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, they are the heavy favourites against the promoted side.
Southampton manager Russell Martin is already under pressure after a dismal start to the season, with the Saints in 19th place in the Premier League after losing five of their opening six matches.
After a hectic period of fixtures, Mikel Arteta may be tempted to rotate a few of his players, but there are still several injury problems within the squad, and Arsenal will be wary of the threat Southampton pose despite their form.
Former goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale will return to face Arsenal for the first time since he left in the summer, but he will be well aware of how difficult his task of keeping his former teammates at bay will be.
Arsenal team and injury news ahead of Southampton
Arsenal were missing defenders Ben White, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Kieran Tierney and Oleksandr Zinchenko against PSG, and all four could still be absent against Southampton, with Tomiyasu only recently returning to training.
Summer signing Mikel Merino recovered from injury to make his debut against PSG, and he will be in the squad, although he may not be ready to start the game yet.
Jurrien Timber was withdrawn at half-time in the victory with a muscle complaint, with Arteta highlighting the need to manage his minutes, but there is little alternative at right-back if he is unable to start against Southampton.
Jakub Kiwior replaced Timber, with Riccardo Calafiori moving to right-back for the first time in his career, but it seems unlikely that this will be used from the start.
Ethan Nwaneri came off the bench to deliver a superb display against Leicester last week, and Arteta has been told by several pundits to hand him his first Premier League start whilst Martin Odegaard is still absent.
Predicted Arsenal XI to face Southampton
Merino may have to wait for his full debut, with Thomas Partey impressing against PSG, Arteta appears likely to mostly stick with the same lineup which started the last two games.
Rotation will be key over the course of the season, but the upcoming International break will allow a lot of his key stars to rest.
The hope will be that Arsenal can repeat what they did against PSG by taking an early lead and securing the win, before making changes in the second half, and the likes of Merino and Nwaneri could come on as substitutes.
Predicted Arsenal XI vs Southampton: David Raya; Jurrien Timber, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, Riccardo Calafiori; Thomas Partey, Leandro Trossard, Declan Rice; Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, Kai Havertz.
Receive a digest of our best Arsenal content each week direct to your mailbox
