After a challenging few weeks that have seen them drop points on more than one occasion, Arsenal will spend Christmas atop the Premier League table.
However, while Mikel Arteta's side won't be in league action until the end of the week, they've got the tough test of Crystal Palace away in the League Cup on Tuesday night.
Beat the Eagles and the Gunners are rewarded with a two-legged semi-final against Chelsea and the chance to make it to Wembley Stadium for the first time since 2020.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta reacts-1
To ensure Arsenal have the best chance of beating Palace, Arteta should make some changes to his lineup, including replacing Viktor Gyokeres with someone who has been compared to the legendary Thierry Henry.
Why Gyokeres should be dropped
The argument for dropping Gyokeres against Palace on Tuesday night is straightforward: cup competitions are usually a chance for managers to rest and rotate their regular starters.
However, some might argue that the Swede should keep his place for the following run of matches, especially after he scored his first goal in some time against Everton.
Yet, it might still be wise for Arteta to take the former Sporting CP star out of his lineup for some of the matches over the next month or so for a few reasons.
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Firstly, the matches against Aston Villa, Liverpool, and, to some extent, Bournemouth are going to be incredibly intense and among the most challenging games the Gunners will play across the rest of the season.
Therefore, it might not be wise to start a forward who tends not to take many touches and who, in previous tough games, has not really turned up.
FFC in-text wider Gyokeres
The second argument is the simple fact that he's just come back from an injury, and with so many games in such a short space of time on the horizon, it would be in his best interest to be rested at points.
Finally, and this is arguably the most crucial reason of all: his competition.
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For example, Kai Havertz is expected to be back by the end of next month at the very latest, so he should become a regular feature in the team again.
Likewise, another striker is finally getting back to his best again, a striker who simply has to start against Palace.
The Arsenal star who replace Gyokeres
Arteta could go with Mikel Merino on Tuesday night, but realistically, the striker who should be coming in for Gyokeres is Gabriel Jesus.
Jesus-Arteta-Arsenal
The first reason is that, after three substitute appearances, he needs to get his first start since returning from injury under his belt.
After all, in his pre-match presser, the manager confirmed that the Brazilian is now fit enough to be in the starting lineup, so it wouldn't be a risk to throw him in from the word go.
On top of helping him get back to his best, another reason the former Manchester City star should be in the side is his record against Palace.
In 15 games against the South Londoners, the Sao Paulo-born dynamo has come out the winner 11 times, drawing twice and losing twice.
On top of that, he's also scored seven goals and provided four assists, which comes out to an incredible average of a goal involvement every 1.36 matches against the Eagles.
Finally, and this is perhaps the most important reason of all: he's just a brilliant footballer.
The 28-year-old might not be the most clinical of number nines, but, as fans have seen again in just 62 minutes of football this season, he is silky on the ball, intelligent off it and able to link the play better than any of the other strikers in the squad.
Moreover, as Ray Palour points out, at his best, he "drifts out to the left quite often, a little like Thierry Henry used to."
Ultimately, Gyokeres has a role to play in this Arsenal team, but for the game on Tuesday, and potentially a few after that, Arteta should start Jesus up top.
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