Arsenal take on Nottingham Forest in their first match back after the international break in the Premier League on Saturday.
Mikel Arteta’s team suffered defeat against Liverpool in their last outing, beaten by a stunning late free-kick from Dominik Szoboszlai at Anfield.
The Gunners will be hoping to return to winning ways against a Forest side who have endured something of a tumultuous few weeks, with a defeat at home to West Ham and speculation around Nuno Espirito Santo’s future creating a negative atmosphere around the City Ground.
The home side will be deemed favourites at the Emirates, and they’ve just been handed some positive injury news heading into the clash.
Arsenal hope to have Ben White fit vs Nottingham Forest
William Saliba will miss the encounter against Forest after sustaining an ankle injury away at Anfield.
Meanwhile, Bukayo Saka is still a doubt as he recovers from a hamstring issue he picked up against Leeds in late August.
However, according to the Standard, the Gunners could be set to have Ben White back and available for the game against the East Midlanders.
White has missed each of Arsenal’s last two fixtures after being forced off the pitch in the opening game against Manchester United.
The right-back is said to be progressing well in his recovery and will be assessed in the coming days to determine his fitness status ahead of the Forest game.
The Standard also reports that Saka will also be assessed, although the Gunners are likely to take a cautious approach with their talisman, for fear of aggravating his hamstring problem.
Saliba won’t make Saturday’s game, but could still feature against Manchester City the following weekend.
Mikel Arteta could select Ben White and Piero Hincapie against Nottingham Forest
Arsenal signed Piero Hincapie from Bayer Leverkusen on deadline day.
Impressing for Ecuador this week, the defender is fit and ready to play for the Gunners, and could subsequently make his debut against Forest.
The 23-year-old is expected to primarily play at left-back for the Gunners, and has been earmarked as Arteta’s attacking option in this position, due to his ability to overlap.
Given Forest are likely to sit in a low block and try to frustrate Arsenal, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Arteta opt for White over Jurrien Timber at right-back, if the Englishman is fit.
White offers more than the Dutchman going forward, and thus, the Gunners boss could unearth a new full-back partnership which is primed to break down stubborn defences.
With the two full-backs overlapping, Arsenal may find they have a new attacking impetus and this could become the preferred full-back pairing in games against more defensive opposition.
The duo have the potential to thrive in an offensive system, and Arteta should at least look to experiment with this set-up at some point in the coming weeks.
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