**Mikel Arteta hinted that several players could return when Arsenal face Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium, with the Gunners aiming to maintain their lead at the top of the Premier League.**
Speaking ahead of the London derby, the Arsenal head coach said late fitness checks would determine whether any players would be available.
“Not so far – we’re waiting for tomorrow, the last training session, to understand if we have one or two available from last week,” Arteta said.
“We are hopeful. Max will play some minutes tonight with the under-21s, Kai will train tomorrow and Ben – let’s see.”
Chelsea travel to north London on the back of two disappointing draws, but Arteta believes his side must approach the match with the right mentality.
“I think it’s about the preparation, and the preparation gives you confidence and the right emotional state to get to the game with the belief and the conviction that you’re going to win it. After that, you have to earn the right to do it,” he said.
“We don’t know – they’ve done different things, and they can change throughout the game. They have the players, and they have a manager who is very comfortable doing that, so we’re prepared. We’re going to be prepared for the possible scenarios that we can face throughout the game and try to do better than them.”
Arsenal have also discovered their Champions League opponents for the round of 16, where they will face Bayer Leverkusen. Arteta admitted he is pleased with the draw as his side continue their push in Europe.
“We are very excited to play the next round. We have earned the right to be in a strong position with what we’ve done in the group stage,” he said.
“Now we need to start analysing them and find ways to be better than them to try to go through the tie.”