UNAI EMERY will once again be fighting for his job when Arsenal take on Eintracht Frankfurt and he may have to do so without Hector Bellerin.
The right-back was substituted during the weekend draw with Southampton and is now officially a doubt to face the Germans.
Diagnosed with a tight hamstring, Bellerin will be assessed before Thursday’s Europa League tie but may not be risked ahead of a very busy month of fixtures.
Arsenal are due to face Norwich, Brighton, West Ham, Standard Liege, Manchester City, Everton, Bournemouth and Chelsea in December.
One man who will miss a large portion of those games is Dani Ceballos, the midfielder still suffering from a hamstring knock of his own.
The Spaniard picked up the issue in the trip to Vitoria earlier in the month and is unlikely to return to training until mid-December.
Emery therefore has a decision to make on his personnel as well as his formation.
Bellerin is the best fit for the wide-right position in the 3-5-2 favoured recently but his absence could draw a return to 4-2-3-1.
Calum Chambers may be the man to move over to the flank with Kieran Tierney on the opposite side amid Sead Kolasinac’s injury.
The Bosnian is “being assessed” before the Frankfurt match, according to the club, but returned from international duty with a tight hamstring.
Youngsters Reiss Nelson, Chris Willock and Gabriel Martinelli are in line for a chance from the outset.
Bukayo Saka and Rob Holding were doubts to face Southampton and this game may come too soon for another start.
And there remains a huge question mark over whether Granit Xhaka will finally earn a reprieve after the Swiss midfielder was stripped of the captaincy and outcast following his infamous bust-up with fans.
Man City boss Pep Guardiola hints that Mikel Arteta could replace Unai Emery at Arsenal
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
