Arsenal attacker Emile Smith Rowe could make his long-awaited comeback in Saturday's Premier League clash with Brighton & Hove Albion at the Amex Stadium.

The England international has been sidelined since September after undergoing groin surgery, but he is edging closer to a full recovery and could force his way into the squad here.

The same can be said for Takehiro Tomiyasu (hamstring), but Gabriel Jesus and Reiss Nelson remain in the treatment room with their knee and thigh problems respectively.

A rare defensive lapse from William Saliba allowed Said Benrahma to open the scoring from the spot for West Ham United on Boxing Day, and the Frenchman was one of the most grateful souls in the stadium when Arsenal completed a 3-1 comeback win.

Saliba is in no danger of losing his spot alongside Gabriel Magalhaes in front of Aaron Ramsdale, while Ben White put in another elegant display at right-back and will hold his place ahead of Tomiyasu, assuming the Japan international can recover in time.

Oleksandr Zinchenko was fit enough to come off the bench against West Ham and could now displace Kieran Tierney, which would add another layer to the Arsenal engine room alongside Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka.

Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli will be out to net in back-to-back Premier League matches alongside Eddie Nketiah, who benefited from Martin Odegaard's second assist of the night on Boxing Day.

The silky Norwegian has already scored braces against Wolverhampton Wanderers and Bournemouth this term and is now aiming to become the sixth Arsenal player to score two or more goals in three Premier League away matches in a single season, joining Ian Wright, Dennis Bergkamp, Emmanuel Adebayor, Robin van Persie and Alexis Sanchez in that exclusive club.

Arsenal possible starting lineup: Ramsdale; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Xhaka, Partey; Saka, Odegaard, Martinelli; Nketiah body check tags ::