After what seems like an eternity, the Gunners return to action following the conclusion of the international break as they travel to Bramall Lane to face Sheffield United in the Premier League.

Alexandre Lacazette faces a late fitness test after recovering from an ankle injury that has kept him out for the last month.

Kieran Tierney looks set to make his first Premier League appearance for Arsenal since his summer move from Celtic.

Meanwhile, fellow full-back Hector Bellerin could also make his first league appearance of the 2019/20 campaign following a long-term injury that has kept him out since January.

For Sheffield United, Ollie McBurnie, David McGoldrick and John Fleck are all doubts after sustaining injuries on international duty.

In what will be a tough test of Arsenal’s mettle, given the team’s dismal away record in the league, Unai Emery’s men know that a win will take them into third place, above Chelsea and Leicester and only one point behind second-placed Manchester City.

It will be intriguing to see how Arsenal set up, given Emery’s preference towards starting club captain Granit Xhaka.

The form of Matteo Guendouzi makes his almost undroppable, meaning there will probably be no room to accommodate Lucas Torreira in a 4-3-3.

The most advanced midfield spot is likely to be filled by Dani Ceballos, though Emery did say over the international break that Mesut Özil has a chance of forcing his way into the starting squad again after improved effort in training.

With the aforementioned Bellerin and Tierney playing as full-backs, Rob Holding is another who has recently recovered from injury.

Holding could partner David Luiz in central defence, though Emery could be tempted to give the nod to Calum Chambers, who has impressed with his performances so far this season.

In attack, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will hope to register his 50th Arsenal goal, in what would only be his 75th game for the club.

Alongside him, Nicolas Pepe will hope to add to his own goal tally after only scoring once in eight league matches, whilst the exciting young prospect of Bukayo Saka is capable of causing plenty of problems down the left flank with his pace and trickery.

Prediction: Sheffield United 1-2 Arsenal

Zac