Mikel Arteta looks set for a huge Arsenal injury boost for the Premier League clash against Everton. The Gunners have been heavily impacted by a number of absences for key players over the last few months with centre-back Gabriel Magalhaes the latest to endure a spell out.
The likes of Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Jurrien Timber have also all been unavailable because of muscular issues so far this season. Arteta has all three available currently, though, with the Gunners' injury list decreasing by the day in the midst of a busy December period.
Timber and Thomas Partey were doubts to face AS Monaco - in the Champions League - but both featured to help ease Arsenal's defensive injury crisis. William Saliba and Jakub Kiwior continued in the centre of defence with Myles Lewis-Skelly also making his starting European debut.
Riccardo Calafiori and Gabriel were, once again, absent but it now seems as though there is real hope the latter in particular can feature. "There is a possibility with one of them to be available. He trained today and it's Gabriel," the Gunners boss admitted in his pre-Everton press conference held at London Colney.
"We're just respecting the times that the medical department has set. We monitor him [Calafiori] every day."
Though Calafiori could return, three defenders could still miss out, with Oleksandr Zinchenko having not featured for Arsenal since picking up an issue against Manchester United and looks unlikely to return any time soon.
Elsewhere, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Ben White have been ruled out until 2025 with the latter having to undergo an operation during the November international break. Tomiyasu meanwhile, has been plagued by issues, with Arteta likely to be cautious when it comes to bringing him back into the fold.
"Tomiyasu is going to be out for a bit," he said in late November. "He's going away for a few weeks to change his environment because this has been really tough for him. We're going to give him the best opportunity to try and unlock something, but I think that we need to be patient."