Mikel Arteta can finally unleash perfect solution to help ease Arsenal injury woes

Mikel Arteta might have several selection headaches for Arsenal's return to Premier League action.

The Gunners will host Nottingham Forest at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday afternoon (3pm) as they look to close the gap on leaders Liverpool. Arsenal have failed to win any of their last four Premier League fixtures with two defeats and two draws, including a stalemate with Chelsea in their previous match before the international break, which continues this week.

The draw at Stamford Bridge saw the Gunners handed more injury concerns that led to Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice withdrawing from the England squad.

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Arteta will, naturally, hope that Saka and Rice recover in time to feature against Forest this weekend - with the Arsenal manager expected to provide an update in the coming days.

Arsenal already have a lengthy injury list that, potentially, saw the addition of Leandro Trossard after the forward was forced off while featuring for Belgium on Sunday night.

The Gunners have also been without Riccardo Calafiori, Ben White, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Kieran Tierney, who are also on the side-lines. As a result, Arsenal could have seven players unavailable when they host Forest on Saturday.

Should the likes of Saka and Trossard be unavailable, then Arteta will have the option of giving Raheem Sterling a start against Forest. Sterling was unavailable to face Chelsea in the previous match due to being unable to feature against his parent club while on loan for the Gunners.

Fitness providing, Sterling is expected to be involved against Forest and the injuries to other players only increase the likelihood of the England international featuring at the Emirates Stadium.

Sterling has made eight appearances so far during his loan spell at Arsenal - scoring one goal which came against Bolton Wanderers in the third round of the Carabao Cup. Arteta has given the 29-year-old four starts in total - but only two have come in the Premier League at this juncture.

If Saka and Trossard are available - along with Gabriel Martinelli, Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz - Sterling will have plenty of competition for a starting spot against Forest. Given the busy schedule ahead, though, Arteta is likely to rotate his squad options to avoid further injuries or fitness concerns.

That means Sterling could be set to justify his loan transfer. This is the exact scenario he was brought in for.