Mikel Arteta's side welcome Fulham to the Emirates this week as Premier League football returns following the International break. Last time out in the league, Arsenal saw off Chelsea 1-0 at home, while their opponents most recently exited the FA Cup after a 3-0 defeat to Crystal Palace in the quarter-finals.
The previous meeting between these two ended in a 1-1 draw. Raul Jimenez opened the scoring early on, but William Saliba equalised just after half-time.
There was late drama at Craven Cottage as Bukayo Saka thought he won the game late on after getting on the end of a cross from Gabriel Martinelli, but the Brazilian was adjudged to be offside in the buildup resulting in the goal being chalked off.
The Gunners currently sit 12 points off leaders Liverpool and have an almighty task to catch the team on Merseyside, all they can do is keep winning and hope for a slip up or two from Arne Slot's men.
Fulham on the other hand have European qualification to play for and following their FA Cup exit this will now be their main focus. Defeat for Arsenal all but confirms the title going to Anfield, if it isn't already.
Saka to return?
For the first time in 2025 there is a chance Saka returns to the Arsenal squad against Fulham. The winger picked up a hamstring injury at the end of 2024 and has been out of action missing the last 19 games for his club. During this time Arsenal's title challenge has somewhat plummeted as the Gunners have lacked attacking prowess.
Saka immediately improves Arsenal's attack both with his finishing ability and creativity from the right hand side. What Arteta doesn't want to do now is rush his star player back too soon.
Saka's return is perfect timing, as they have a two-legged tie againstReal Madrid in the coming weeks. Losing the England international in a game against Fulham, which is less important than the Champions League matches, would be bitterly disappointing.
Arteta will be hesitant to rush his forward back too soon and cause further damage but in the same breath he will want to have Saka back up to speed by the time they Welcome Madrid next week.
What to do with Merino and how can Arteta get more out of him?
Arteta has a decision to make on certain players in his team and where they fit in his team now, with summer singing Mikel Merino being used as a makeshift striker since Kai Havertz picked up a season ending injury in February. Now with Saka's return could the front three feature Martinelli, Saka and use Leandro Trossard as the striker or will Merino start up front.
Should the Arsenal manager go with his three forwards as the front line where does that leave the former Real Sociedad man? Does Merino drop back into a midfield role, or is he relegated back to the bench?
Merino has been a useful tool for Arteta when being used as the central striker during their injury crisis scoring the only goal of the game against Chelsea last time out.
Long term however, he is not the answer and you can imagine would prefer to be back in his natural position at the heart of the team. When deployed as the striker Merino does offer Arsenal something unique that no one else really does in the team.
With his size and physical presence he is able to hold the ball up and bring others into play with his back to goal, while also being a threat in the box both when attacking a defending set pieces.
It may be worth seeing how Merino now plays with more creativity around him with both Saka and Martin Odegaard fit to supply him because should this work then Arteta may have a short term answer to his teams goal scoring issues.
Carrying momentum into the business end of the season
You can argue that Arsenal have underperformed this season, especially when you consider how they performed in the previous campaign, coming so close to winning the title if it wasn't forManchester City.
With Pep Guardiola's team out of the question this season all eyes were on Arsenal to capitalise and put together a real title charge. What has played out, however, is that Liverpool have taken the league by storm and almost wrapped up the title already.
The same can be said about Arsenal and the cups, losing in the semi final to eventual winners Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup where they were outplayed and outfought in both legs. Then losing to a turbulent Manchester United in the third round of the FA Cup, they have underperformed in many areas.
There are mitigating circumstances for this such as long term injuries they have suffered to their most important players but overall it has not been good enough. What they do still have however is a shot in the Champions League.
Facing Real Madrid is not an easy task, but they aren't unbeatable, so taking momentum into that game is of paramount importance. This starts with the game against Fulham.
If Arsenal can score early against Marco Silva's side then it could end up being a comfortable evening for them, with Fulham having played on Saturday and suffering disappointing defeat compared to Arsenal's rested squad.
Arsenal already boast the best defence in the league only conceding 24 goals all season, keeping them out isn't their problem, it's making sure they put them in at the other end.
With players returning from injury to help with that if Arsenal can come out of this game not having to really get out of gear then that will only breath confidence going into the latter stages of the season.