Arsenal's League Cup quarterfinal with Crystal Palace went the distance - as so many of their recent matches have done

In a recent report, Sky Sports claimed that Arsenal are eager to land Elche midfielder Rodrigo Mendoza. It has been mentioned that the Gunners are showing interest in recruiting the Spanish talent

Arsenal are going into the Christmas period top of the Premier League, but despite their strong position there have been things to worry the club's supporters. Just like last season, injuries have been a constant theme throughout the campaign so far with Kai Havertz being sidelined since the first game of the season.

There were some historic Champions League performances and the team are top of the league at Christmas - but injuries again hit Arsenal

William Saliba believes Arsenal teammate Jurrien Timber is the best right-back in the world, and at the very least in the top-two.Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty ImagesArsenal defender Jurrien Timber has

Arteta made eight changes to the side that beat Everton 1-0 at the weekend, with Gabriel Jesus coming in for his first start in 345 days after recovering from an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury - and the performance felt disjointed.

One of those games was the controversial fixture which saw Declan Rice sent off but across both games, Brighton generated more xG overall (3.28) than Arsenal did (3.02). With quite a few of his squad returning from injury, coupled with a full week's worth of rest in a busy December, Brighton ought to be the fresher side.

After Brighton comes Aston Villa on December 30, and with it surely Arsenal's toughest test of the Christmas period. Villa sit just three points behind Arsenal in the table and are on a ten-match winning run in all competitions. In the 2023-24 season, Arsenal lost 2-0 at home to Aston Villa... and lost the title by two points