Gabriel Jesus is closing in on an Arsenal return after four months on the sidelines, but the Premier League leaders will not have the striker available for Saturday's meeting with Bournemouth.
Jesus made an immediate impact upon his arrival from Manchester City last year, but he has not played since suffering a knee injury while representing Brazil at the World Cup in December.
The 25-year-old returned to light training last month, and while his first club outing since November is not imminent, Arsenal fans will not have to wait much longer to see him in action.
Manager Mikel Arteta said of Jesus at Friday's pre-Bournemouth press conference: "He's not far now. I don't want to give a timeline – he's not very close, but he's not far at all, and he's feeling better every day.
"The doctors are confident with the way the injury is evolving and we are in a good place with him, I think.
"It's been pretty straightforward. Obviously at the start we were really concerned about the extent of the injury. Thankfully it was not that bad, but it was a long-term injury and required surgery.
"Knowing Gabi, he's gone through this before. His mentality is just incredible and I think the team has done a good job to put him in the position he's in today."
Asked if Jesus could play before the international break later this month, Arteta added: "We don't know. We're not far away but he needs to do much more with the team.
"Lets see how the next week or 10 days develop, then we'll have a much better picture."
Despite Jesus' absence, Arsenal are five points clear at the summit after winning seven of their 11 Premier League games since the World Cup.
Arteta is proud of his players' reaction to Jesus' injury, with Eddie Nketiah among those to have stepped up to fill the void up top.
"That was a huge blow for the team. We knew the importance of Gabi and the way he transformed this period and the belief," Arteta said.
"But to be fair, the team made a step forward and players took more responsibility individually. They were keen to maintain the level and we have done it so far.
"What he was producing for the team was phenomenal. But it's true that we now need to see what level he comes back at, how we are going to fit him in.
"Like everybody else he will have to earn his place, but we know what Gabi can give to the team, that's for sure."
Meanwhile, two other stars of Arsenal's bid for a first league title since 2004 – Bukayo Saka and William Saliba – have entered the final 18 months of their contracts with the Gunners, who are keen to tie them down to long-term deals.
Arteta, however, is unwilling to publicly discuss their futures until Arsenal's title charge is concluded.
"Every player is very important. Obviously there are players with special circumstances contractually, and we are trying to deal with them," he said.
"But I don't want to cause any distractions in this moment with those conversations. When something is done and it's good news, we will announce it."
'In eight years we never lived like this' – Guardiola shocked by City drop-off
Pep Guardiola admits he has been surprised by Manchester City's alarming dip in form, saying: "In eight years we never lived like this".
Guardiola is in the midst of the longest losing run of his managerial career, with City suffering a fifth straight defeat in all competitions on Saturday as they were thrashed 4-0 by Tottenham.
They have also lost three Premier League games in a row and could end the weekend eight points adrift of leaders Liverpool, who visit bottom club Southampton on Sunday.
It is their worst run in the competition since they lost three straight between February and March 2016, when they finished fourth under Manuel Pellegrini.
"In eight years we never lived this. I knew sooner or later we would drop," Guardiola said after Saturday's game.
"I never expected to lose three Premier League games in a row but we have been incredibly consistent again and again and again.
"Now we cannot deny the reality that sometimes happens in football and life is here."
City's drop-off has coincided with star midfielder Rodri – who won the Ballon d'Or last month – being sidelined by an anterior cruciate ligament injury.
Guardiola's side did not lose any of the 34 Premier League matches in which Rodri appeared last season, winning 27 and drawing seven, though they lost three of four when the Spaniard was absent.
Each of City's last six league defeats have come when Rodri has not featured, but former Manchester United defender Gary Neville believes their poor run cannot be totally blamed on his injury.
"We've seen City lose the odd game here, but we've very rarely seen them outplayed in every department, but that's what we're watching," pundit Neville told Sky Sports.
"They look well short. As short as I've seen them since Pep's first season. I've not seen them as bad as this, how they've been in the last few weeks.
"He will have wanted that international break to come, thinking it would be a reset moment. But now here, it further entrenches the opinion this is a City side currently in decline.
"This is more than just Rodri, far more."
Arsenal's improved form after Odegaard's return 'not a coincidence', says Arteta
Mikel Arteta insisted it was "not a coincidence" that Martin Odegaard's presence led Arsenal to a 3-0 victory over Nottingham Forest in one of their best performances of the season.
Arsenal's win was their 2,000th in English top-flight history, making them just the second side to reach this milestone after Liverpool (2,068).
Odegaard had been sidelined through injury since September with an ankle injury sustained while on international duty with Norway.
He returned to the starting line-up last time out against Chelsea and now has two assists from two since his return after setting up Bukayo Saka for the opener against Forest.
Arsenal ran out comfortable winners after Thomas Partey and Ethan Nwaneri extended their lead and Arteta is confident the influence of his captain helped.
"It's not a coincidence. The team flows in a different way when [Odegaard] is playing," he told BBC MOTD.
"I think we started really well. The sense I was getting in the last 48 hours after the international break, the boys coming together and were all at it.
"It was good to see the impact of the substitutes [Thomas Partey - goal; Ethan Nwaneri - goal; Raheem Sterling - assist]. Everyone has to feel important. It was a good afternoon."
Partey grabbed Arsenal's second just seven minutes after entering the pitch, curling into the left corner from outside the box following Arteta's half-time swap for Jorginho.
Four of Partey's seven Premier League goals have come from outside the box. Of all Arsenal players to score more than five goals in the competition, he’s the only one to net more than half from outside the box.
Arteta had particular praise for fellow goalscorer Nwaneri, who, at 17 years and 247 days, became Arsenal’s second youngest-ever Premier League goalscorer, behind only Cesc Fabregas in August 2004 (17y 113d).
"He is the second youngest [Premier League goalscorer] in our history. That's a story in itself. He's brave. You see the reaction of fans, and they were singing 'he's one of our own'," added the Arsenal boss.
"I think we have to put brick by brick and make sure the cement doesn't get dry. Hopefully, we can build a beautiful thing with him."
Arsenal outplayed their opponents, leading them on expected goals (xG) with a total of 1.4 compared to Forest's 0.4 xG.
"On a day like this, you need to be solid defensively and take your chances. Ultimately it was not good enough, and it was three relatively easy goals for them," James Ward-Prowse told Sky Sports.
"We are going to have to improve our defensive structure."
Hurzeler delighted by Brighton 'togetherness' in battling win
Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler was in fighting mode at full-time as he praised the Seagulls' "togetherness" in their 2-1 win away at Bournemouth.
Hurzeler's charges signed off for the international break with a 2-1 home victory over defending champions Manchester City, and they mirrored the scoreline at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday thanks to Joao Pedro and Kaoru Mitoma.
Despite his expansive and high-wire tactical approach receiving plenty of praise so far this season, it was Brighton's mental strength that caught the eye late on, after being reduced to ten players in the 59th minute through Carlos Baleba's red card.
It set up a nervy finale for the visitors, which included a 93rd-minute consolation goal from David Brooks and Antoine Semenyo smacking the bar, but the grit to get the result over the line pleased the Brighton manager.
"We have to see the performance from different viewpoints," he told Sky Sports.
"From one side of things, it was not the best football game from ourselves, but it was a good game to prove our togetherness, to show we can suffer together and defend together - that's why I'm proud of my team.
"The other side is that we can play better football. In some moments, we were lucky, in some moments, Bournemouth were better. Of course, the red card changes the game for me. That's why I am proud. We can play better football.
"We also had really good moments, we tried to play our from the back even when the pressure was really high. That's why I was pleased with some moments, but not with the whole game."
Hurzeler was also left frustrated by Stuart Attwell's decision to dismiss Baleba for a second yellow card with the visitors 2-0 in front.
"It's a clear thing. It can't be a yellow card the second one, never ever," he added. "Hopefully the referee will look at this and make a decision, and they take back the yellow card, because honestly, that's never a yellow card."
Victory moves Brighton up to fifth in the Premier League table - their highest position since mid-October - with struggling Southampton next up for Hurzeler's side.
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