Mikel Arteta has just done something at Arsenal for the first time in 1,364 days vs Leicester City

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Arsenal are severely depleted in attacking areas, with injuries to key forwards significant hampering Mikel Arteta’s team.

Bukayo Saka is out until March with a hamstring injury, while Gabriel Martinelli will miss a month with a similar issue.

Kai Havertz is out for the season after also sustaining a hamstring tear, while Gabriel Jesus won’t feature again this campaign after tearing his ACL.

This leaves Arteta with just Leandro Trossard, Raheem Sterling and Ethan Nwaneri as forward options for upcoming games.

Arsenal start without Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Martinelli for first time since 2021

Arsenal travel to Leicester on Saturday afternoon for their first game since their Dubai training camp.

The break in the Middle East was supposed to be an opportunity for the Gunners squad to rest and recuperate, but instead they return more threadbare up front than they already were.

Havertz and Martinelli are now out, meaning Arteta has opted for the only plausible front three he could’ve picked.

Trossard starts up front against the Foxes, with Sterling to the left of him and Nwaneri to the right.

This line-up has elicited an astounding statistic, with the absences of Havertz, Saka, Jesus and Martinelli an extremely rare occurrence for Arsenal.

It’s the first time Arteta has named a starting eleven in the Premier League without any of these four players since the final game of the 2020/21 season, when Arsenal beat Brighton 2-0 at the Emirates.

That’s almost four years, or 1,364 days, ago.

Arsenal must find an alternative to Leandro Trossard up front

Arsenal have an exceptional record with Trossard starting as a striker, winning eight of the nine Premier League matches when the Belgian has been deployed up front.

However, the 30-year-old won’t be able to play every single minute for the Gunners in the next few weeks.

He’ll need to be rotated in and out and given some respite towards the end of games.

Thus, Arsenal need to source an unconventional striker from somewhere.

Mikel Merino and Riccardo Calafiori have been mooted as options, while Kieran Tierney may also be considered as a wide player.

Calafiori’s profile makes the most sense, with the Italian’s robustness and finishing ability giving him some of the attributes required in a striker.