Arsene Wenger has thrown his backing behind Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and 19-year-old Ainsley Maitland-Niles to solve his midfield crisis at Chelsea.
Wenger goes into Saturday’s game at Stamford Bridge with Arsenal’s title hopes on the line and Francis Coquelin his only available senior central midfielder.
Aaron Ramsey limped off with a calf strain in Tuesday’s shock home defeat by Watford, Granit Xhaka is suspended and Mohammed Elneny, carrying another injury, is still at the Africa Cup of Nations with Egypt.
Santi Cazorla is a long-term absentee.
So Wenger is forced to find alternatives. Oxlade-Chamberlain, usually a winger, is likely to start in a game where Arsenal must cut the nine-point gap at the top.
Another option identified by Wenger is Maitland-Niles, who spent much of last season as a right back for Ipswich in the Championship.
Up against Antonio Conte’s well-drilled Premier League leaders, the Frenchman’s midfield looks a weak link but he has been impressed with his double-barrelled duo in the central roles of late.
‘Ainsley Maitland-Niles has played a lot on the flanks but I’ve seen qualities in him that tell me he can be useful in the middle and he can also be a defensive specialist,’ Wenger said.
So Wenger is forced to find alternatives. Oxlade-Chamberlain, usually a winger, is likely to start in a game where Arsenal must cut the nine-point gap at the top.
Another option identified by Wenger is Maitland-Niles, who spent much of last season as a right back for Ipswich in the Championship.
Up against Antonio Conte’s well-drilled Premier League leaders, the Frenchman’s midfield looks a weak link but he has been impressed with his double-barrelled duo in the central roles of late.
‘Ainsley Maitland-Niles has played a lot on the flanks but I’ve seen qualities in him that tell me he can be useful in the middle and he can also be a defensive specialist,’ Wenger said.
Claude Puel is eagerly awaiting the chance to lock horns with managerial mentor Arsene Wenger once more as Arsenal travel to Southampton in the FA Cup.
Wenger coached Puel at AS Monaco between 1987 and 1995, the pair winning the Ligue 1 title in the now-Arsenal manager’s debut season.
In two meetings as Premier League managers so far results have been balanced, Arsenal winning in the league and Southampton knocking the Gunners out of the EFL Cup at the quarter-final stage in November.
On both occasions Southampton proved formidable opponents for Arsenal, with only a last-minute penalty from Santi Cazorla securing all three points for Wenger’s men when the two sides met at the Emirates in September.
When the Saints visited the Emirates in the EFL Cup in November they were even more impressive, Jordy Clasie and Ryan Bertrand securing a comfortable 2-0 win.
“I have a lot of respect for my former trainer,”Puel said. “It’s a pleasure to see him again – for the first game in the EFL Cup it was a good thing for us.
“I imagine he’ll come to Southampton with a strong will to take a good result. All the competition is on the pitch, off the pitch I respect Arsene Wenger a lot.”
Arsenal travel to the south coast without the suspended Granit Xhaka and injured Santi Cazorla but with former Southampton forward Theo Walcott back in the squad after over a month out with a calf injury.
Wenger’s numbers have also been swelled by the returning Danny Welbeck, Kieran Gibbs and Hector Bellerin whilst Puel noted his own sizeable injury list, the second longest in the Premier League.
Arsene Wenger has revealed that Arsenal are not close to signing anyone in the January transfer window but are willing to allow the likes of Carl Jenkinson and Mathieu Debuchy to leave if the right offer presents itself.
The Gunners are extremely light in midfield with Santi Cazorla out injured, while Mohamed Elneny is unavailable due to his involvement in the African Cup of Nations.
Granit Xhaka is suspended for the next four games after his second sending off in the league where his two footed tackle against Burnley was deemed to be dangerous by referee Jon Moss in consultation with the linesman.
Aaron Ramsey and Francis Coquelin are the only two midfielders available for the Gunners but Wenger insists that he is not close to filling that gap with any new additions this window
"We are not on the verge of signing anyone," Wenger told Arsenal's official website.
The Gunners signed Elneny last January to avert their crisis in the middle of the park while they averted a similar situation a season before when Coquelin came back from loan to fill an important peg in midfield.
They also signed Kim Kallstrom on loan on deadline day but the midfielder was injured and unable to make an immediate impact.
Meanwhile, the manager was all praise for Southampton, who made their way to the final of the EFL Cup at the expense of Liverpool.
The Saints had beaten Arsenal on their way to the final, where they will face Manchester United, who sneaked past Hull City on aggregate after losing the game 2-1 at the KCOM stadium.
Arsene Wenger has praised the "marvellous" dedication from Granit Xhaka following a week of negativity surrounding the midfielder.
The 24-year-old, who joined the Gunners in a £30m deal from Borussia Monchengladbach last summer, has been hit with a four-game ban after getting sent off for a two-footed tackle on Steven Defour in last weekend's 2-1 win over Burnley.
The Switzerland international, who has now been sent off twice this season, was also recently questioned by police over an allegation that he racially abused an airline staff member at Heathrow Airport.
Wenger has confirmed that he has spoken to Xhaka about the incident, insisting that his player refutes the accusations.
"He denies completely the incident at Heathrow, I have spoken to him about it," Wenger told reporters in Thursday's press conference.
"I can only say about him since the start, he has a fantastic attitude. He has been absolutely marvellous.
"Focus, dedication and we never have a bad noise about him. He is naturally not a great tackler and in his decision making. It is more the way he tackles that is not convincing.
I would encourage him not to tackle, to stay on his feet."
Xhaka has started 15 Premier League games and three Champions League matches this season.
Arsenal legend Ian Wright has berated midfielder Granit Xhaka for his reckless sending off against Burnley.
Granit Xhaka was shown a straight red card by referee John Moss for his lunging challenge on Burnley's Steven Defour at the weekend.
The sending off was his ninth in three seasons, meaning the Swiss midfielder has the worst disciplinary record in Europe.
And former Arsenal striker Ian Wright has claimed it is about time the 24-year-old sorted his game out and stopped being so reckless.
“When you see his tackle, he is very lax on the ball at the time," Wright told BBC Radio 5Live.
“He launched himself into it. I don’t think he caught the player as much as it looked like it. It was dangerous.
“He has to start thinking about that.
"You can’t afford to go down to 10 men, especially at home where you have to win the game.
“He has to start learning from the fact that people are constantly pointing the finger and he is reckless.”
Xhaka has made 27 appearances for the Gunners this season and has picked up three yellow and two red cards.
Mohamed Elneny aspires to be a legend at Arsenal little over a year after he joined the club.
The Egyptian midfielder arrived in a £7million deal from Basel last January and has established himself as a regular presence in Arsene Wenger’s squad without ever quite carving out a place in the Arsenal starting XI.
Elneny has started just six games in the Premier League this season but the 24-year-old has lofty ambitions for the remainder of his Arsenal career.
“I want to be a legend at this club,” Elneny told the Daily Mail.
“Like Thierry Henry. I mean, obviously not exactly like him. I have my own personality, my own character. I want to be different to anyone that’s gone before.
“But since I got here, I’ve always had that in mind. I wanted to become an Arsenal legend.”
Elneny is currently at the Africa Cup of Nations with Egypt, who play their final group game on Friday and need just a point against Ghana to qualify for the last eight.
However Elneny is missing perhaps his best chance for an extended run in the Arsenal side this season.
With Granit Xhaka facing a four game ban Arsene Wenger’s midfield stock is depleted, leaving the uncomfortable pairing of Francis Coquelin and Aaron Ramsey to soldier through until their team-mate’s return.
Arsene Wenger has urged for more control from Granit Xhaka after the midfielder picked up his ninth red card in three years against Burnley.
The Swiss international saw red during the Gunners' 2-1 victory and might have cost his team two points, but for a late winner from Alexis Sanchez at the Emirates.
"Xhaka's red card, honestly I have to look at it again, but the noises I heard suggest it was a red card," said Wenger.
"He has to control his game, and not punish the team with his lack of control and his tackling.
"We don't encourage our midfielders to go down in tackles, we want them to stand up and not make these kind of fouls.
So if it is a bad tackle then it is a red card."
Arsenal currently occupy second spot in the standings with 47 points from 22 games.
Arsene Wenger has admitted that he "should have shut up" after he was sent off during the Gunners' dramatic 2-1 victory over Burnley on Sunday afternoon.
The hosts took the lead on the hour-mark though Shkodran Mustafi but soon saw themselves reduced to ten men when Granit Xhaka went in with both feet on Steven Defour.
Arsenal held firm and were heading for the three points until the 89th minute, when Sean Dyche's side were awarded a penalty, much to the annoyance of Wenger.
The Frenchman was given his marching orders and appeared to manhandle the fourth official moments after Andre Gray had successfully dispatched the spot kick.
There was to be one last twist in the tale, however, as Alex Sanchez put the hosts back ahead with a penalty deep into injury time.
"We finally got the win but of course it was very difficult for us," Wenger told Sky Sports News afterwards.
"We couldn't get the second goal, we played with 10 men and they played well as well. In the end we got the three points we wanted.
"Burnley are well organised, they make the game simple but efficient. We won there in the last second and we one again in the last second today. Every week and every game is an unbelievable fight for everybody."
Asked about his sending-off, he added: "I didn't see any penalty from the outside but I should have shut up and I apologise, even if I was frustrated."
The result lifted Arsenal to second in the Premier League table, five points behind leaders Chelsea ahead of the Blues' late kickoff with Hull City.
Arsenal’s Premier League title bid was saved in thrilling fashion as Alexis Sanchez scored the second of two stoppage time-penalties in a 2-1 win over Burnley.
Shkodran Mustafi’s first Arsenal goal seemed to have broken Burnley’s formidable resistance, but a red card for Granit Xhaka six minutes later was the start of a potentially disastrous collapse.
In the second of seven minutes of added time Francis Coquelin tripped Ashley Barnes inside the box, with Gray converting from the spot as Arsene Wenger was sent to the stands for his remonstrations to fourth official Anthony Taylor.
It seemed to have cast a critical blow to Arsenal’s prospects of catching Chelsea, but five minutes later Laurent Koscielny was kicked by Ben Mee in the area and Sanchez chipped his spot-kick down the middle to secure three points on a weekend where Wenger could afford nothing less.
After Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City and Tottenham all conspired to drop points on Saturday the opportunity was there for Arsenal to emerge as Chelsea’s closest rivals; they could cut the gap on Antonio Conte’s league leaders to five points with a win against a Burnley side who had claimed just a single point of their 25 away from Turf Moor this season.
Granit Xhaka believes that Alexis Sanchez can be the perfect role model for the young players at Arsenal.
The Chile international is widely regarded as one of the Premier League’s top attacking players since his arrival at the club from Barcelona in the summer of 2014.
Sanchez has been a key part of the Arsenal team so far this season and has scored 14 Premier League goals for the north London side.
The 28-year-old’s future at the club continues to be a source of speculation after he entered into the final 18 months of his contract at The Emirates.
However, Xhaka, who arrived at Arsenal from Borussia Monchengladbach in the summer, has been hugely impressed by what he has seen from Sanchez so far this term.
Speaking in an interview with Arsenal’s website, Xhaka said:
“I think Alexis can be a good role model, because he always pushes himself to his limits, no matter if it’s in training or in a match.
“He can be a good role model for the young players.”
Arsenal are currently gearing up for their Premier League clash against Burnley at The Emirates on Sunday afternoon.
Granit Xhaka has called on his side to put Burnley under pressure by scoring an early goal in the Premier League game between the two clubs this weekend.
During the reverse fixture in October, Arsenal only prevailed thanks to a last-minute goal from Laurent Koscielny, but the Clarets went on to enjoy a fine first half to the campaign.
However, they make the trip to the Emirates Stadium having struggled for points on the road, and Xhaka wants the Gunners to start positively on Sunday afternoon.
The 24-year-old told the club's official website: "We noticed already in the first game that it was really tough at their place. We needed a late goal to win.
They play direct, they are compact defensively as well and that makes it difficult. But we are playing at home and we need the three points."
"Against these sort of teams, it is very important to score as early as possible and as many times as possible. That puts them under pressure, it makes them come out a bit more as well.
We want to start positively, we want to force mistakes and if we do that, I am sure we can win this game."
Victory for Arsenal would ensure that they remain in the top four of the standings.
Granit Xhaka believes Per Mertesacker remains Arsenal’s “leader” despite not having played for the club since April.
Manager Arsene Wenger confirmed yesterday that Mertesacker has agreed a new one-year deal with the Gunners after the club exercised an option to keep him, a move that was in some doubt given the severity of the 32-year-old’s knee injury.
Mertesacker is still a few weeks away from returning to action as he rebuilds his fitness but Xhaka was immediately struck by the centre-back’s influence at the club following his £34million summer switch from Borussia Monchengladbach.
“Unfortunately I have not had the chance to train with Per since I arrived here, actually,” he said.
“Straight away, I noticed his importance in the dressing room because he is a real leader here and hopefully he can get back healthy and we can have him for the second half of the season.”
Mertesacker will be missing for Sunday’s visit of Burnley and almost certainly the entirety of a three-game period which Xhaka believes could define Arsenal’s Premier League season.
Watford visit Emirates Stadium the following Tuesday before a League hiatus for the FA Cup fourth round ends with a crucial trip to Chelsea.
