Mikel Arteta has said forwards Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli should be back in action in a month's time, as Arsenal's goalscoring problems were highlighted once more in a 0-0 draw at Nottingham Forest.
Arsenal, now 13 points behind Liverpool, will only play two more Premier League matches before the international break, against Manchester United and Chelsea, and Arteta believes his attacking duo will be available for the home match against Fulham on 1 April.
"I think so but again let’s see how they evolve in the next few weeks to make the right steps and then after that, they’ve been out for a long, long time, so we’re going to have to integrate them as well gradually," Arteta said in his post-match press conference.
"They are evolving well but they’re still a bit far.
"We have a meeting tomorrow to discuss where they are, especially Gabi, who probably has a chance before Bukayo to come in, but how soon that is, we’ll have to see how it evolves in the next week or 10 days."
Arsenal's next five fixtures
The 0-0 draw at Forest was the second successive Premier League match without a goal for Arsenal, following Saturday's 1-0 loss to West Ham United, as Arteta again opted for midfielder Mikel Merino to lead his attack.
"We certainly tried many different ways," said Arteta. "With the amount of situations we generated, with the moments we opened them up, we lacked the final pass, the quality on that delivery and certainly more shots on target to actually win it and be more efficient.
"We tried and adapting the quality that we have, how we can help the team to create different things, to have threats from different qualities. Probably they are not about arriving in the box and creating some magic moments - they are other kind of players. Try to adapt to that and do the best that we can.
"We have another day or two now to think before the PSV game [in the UEFA Champions League], all the options that we have, especially against a team that is in a low block.
"Even if they will arrive, if they will open up, if the opponent will be much better than us then I will probably be in a different state. I know that what’s lacking is that piece up there and I just said, there’s a lot to play for and we need to find the solution to unlock it."
