Arsenal are in the midst of preparing for their first game of 2025 which will be a Premier League clash away to Brentford on New Year's Day. The Gunners currently sit in third on 36 points but a win will take them back above Nottingham Forest and to within six points of leaders Liverpool.

Arne Slot's side were in action this past weekend and continued their impressive momentum with a dominant 5-0 win against West Ham. Forest also secured another victory away at Everton to make it five wins on the spin while Chelsea suffered a second consecutive defeat with Ipswich Town beating them 2-0.

With those three teams now having played 19 games, key players such as Nicolas Jackson, Morgan Gibbs-White and Elliot Anderson have all avoided a one-match ban due to an accumulation of yellow cards. As for the Gunners, Gabriel Jesus and Jurrien Timber are the two that must avoid being booked against Brentford.

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Elsewhere, Bruno Fernandes, Manuel Ugarte, Djed Spence and Jhon Duran have all missed recent games due to suspension. The latter of those names currently has a further two games to serve but that could actually yet increase and have an impact on Arsenal.

In the first half of the 3-0 defeat to Newcastle, Duran was shown a red card for violent conduct which will see him absent for three games. However, an FA statement has now charged the Villa striker for a separate offence and that may mean he misses more games in January.

The statement to X read: "Jhon Duran has been charged following the Premier League fixture between Newcastle United and Aston Villa on Thursday 26 December 2024. It's alleged that the Aston Villa forward acted in an improper manner in the 32nd minute of the fixture, after being sent off.

"Jhon Duran has until Friday December 3 2025 to provide a response." Currently, the Colombian will be unavailable to face Leicester and West Ham in the FA Cup third round, having already missed the Brighton draw on Monday. That could however, extend beyond early January with games against Everton and Arsenal following that.

Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk has already been handed retrospective punishment for a similar incident last season which saw him receive an extra one-match ban on top of the red card. If the same scenario occurs for Duran he will miss the clash against Everton and be back available for the trip to Emirates Stadium.

However, it is entirely possible that he could be given an extra two or three games on top of his existing ban based on his reaction after the dismissal.