Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has been working his players hard in training ahead of facing Crystal Palace twice this week. The Gunners have dropped points in two of their last three games with draws against Fulham and Everton coming either side of a 3-0 Champions League triumph over Monaco.

The priority now switches to the Carabao Cup however, as Arsenal vie for a spot in the semi-finals. Emirates Stadium will host the first of two games against Palace with Selhurst Park the venue for their Premier League clash this coming weekend.

Given the busy fixture schedule, Arteta rotating his starting XI seems very likely and that could provide Raheem Sterling, Jakub Kiwior and Gabriel Jesus with opportunities to impress. Injury problems continue to plague Arteta with five players not spotted in any of the photos uploaded to the club's official website.

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With that being said, football.london rounds up all the important thing spotted from Arsenal's Tuesday session at London Colney.

Rice absent

Despite Arteta confirming that Rice has not suffered an injury, he appeared to be missing from Tuesday's indoor and outdoor training drills ahead of Palace.

Based on that and the fact it is only a Carabao Cup game, the England international either not being included in the squad or being left out entirely, seems very plausible. Jorginho, Thomas Partey and Leandro Trossard are just a few options that could replace him in midfield depending on the system Arteta deploys.

Nwaneri focus

One player expected to be named in Arteta's starting XI is Ethan Nwaneri. The 17-year-old has started and scored in the two previous Carabao Cup rounds while also making an impact off the bench in Premier League action.

Perhaps sensing another opportunity to showcase his talents is coming up, Nwaneri was captured on a number of occasions fully focused and with a determined look on his face. Arteta is also clearly a very big fan of him with a huge claim recently made about his versatility.

In a press conference, he said: "Ethan can play as a right-attacking midfielder, a left-attacking midfielder, he can play as a right winger and there is another position I think he can develop into."

On him playing as a No.9, Arteta added: "He has got the goal in front of him and he looks at the goal and he has a tremendous ability to put the ball in the back of the net."

Quadruple starting XI hint

While Arteta is often coy on giving away team news updates, he was far more open on the availability of key players ahead of Crystal Palace. When confirming Rice was available, he also revealed that Riccardo Calafiori and Oleksandr Zinchenko would still be out.

Though he hardly announces the starting team, it was much more information than many have come to expect and now, through some training photos, a few players starting and some that could be on the bench may have been revealed.

In a small-sided game, which often sees a number of starters against those due to be on the sidelines, Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz are wearing orange bibs while Leandro Trossard and Mikel Merino were not.

Given the fixture that awaits, it is far more likely Havertz and Saka are rested and thus Trossard and Merino are in the starting XI. This could however, not be the case with it also possible the teams were chosen at random.