Arsenal must recover quickly from a damaging defeat to Chelsea as they look to keep their hopes of a Premier League top-four finish on track against Hull City.
The Gunners followed up a shock 2-1 home defeat to Watford by losing 3-1 against Chelsea on Saturday, leaving them 12 points behind Antonio Conte's title favourites with 14 games of the season remaining.
Arsene Wenger's men must pick themselves up from consecutive defeats as they welcome Hull to Emirates Stadium, though Marco Silva's side will be no pushovers - especially with Wenger still serving his touchline ban.
The Tigers drew against Manchester United at Old Trafford before beating Liverpool 2-0 at the KC Stadium on Saturday, and Arsenal will likely have to be on top form to avoid another home upset.
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Hector Bellerin is "recovering well" from a suspected concussion suffered against Chelsea, though it remains to be seen whether the right-back will be passed fit for the Emirates clash.
Arsene Wenger's midfield options are still limited with Aaron Ramsey (calf) and Santi Cazorla (Achilles) out, although Mohamed Elneny is returning after defeat in the African Cup of Nations final with Egypt.
Hull beat Liverpool despite Michael Dawson injuring his calf in the warm-up, and the captain is likely to miss the trip to Arsenal.
Dawson will join fellow centre-back Curtis Davies (hamstring) on the sidelines, but Andrea Ranocchia - on loan from Inter Milan - will have another chance to impress following a fine display against Liverpool.
Ryan Mason remains out with a skull fracture, while Markus Henriksen (shoulder), Will Keane (ACL) and Moses Odubajo (patella) complete a lengthy Tigers injury list.
POSSIBLE LINE-UPS
Arsenal: Cech; Gabriel, Koscielny, Mustafi, Monreal; Oxlade-Chamberlain, Coquelin; Walcott, Ozil, Sanchez; Welbeck
Hull: Jakupovic, Elabdellaoui, Ranocchia, Maguire, Robertson, Huddlestone, N'Diaye, Grosicki, Goebel, Clucas, Hernandez
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.
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.
