Gabriel Jesus is a doubt for Arsenal's trip to Leeds United on Sunday, while Mikel Arteta only foresees his side's fixture pile-up getting worse after the World Cup.
Inspired new signing Jesus had played in all 11 of Arsenal's matches this season before missing the midweek win over Bodo/Glimt due to a knock sustained in last Sunday's victory over Liverpool.
But a rare break on Thursday while his team-mates were in Europa League action was not necessarily enough to see Jesus return at Leeds.
Arteta looked ahead to the Leeds match after full-time in Norway, at which point he was still unsure of his striker's status for the game at Elland Road.
"I don't know," Arsenal manager Arteta said of Jesus. "Obviously he has some discomfort after the game against Liverpool, and that's why we decided not to bring him in [to Norway].
"So, let's see how he is."
After Leeds, Arsenal host PSV in a match that was postponed following the death of Queen Elizabeth II last month.
That will be the third of five consecutive Thursdays on which Arsenal have Europa League commitments, with each game followed by a Premier League fixture on the Sunday.
But that gruelling schedule is unlikely to ease any time soon, with the Gunners beginning their involvement in the EFL Cup and FA Cup either side of the World Cup, as well as having two more postponed games to play in the Premier League.
Were Arsenal to finish second in their Europa League group, they would have even more fixtures to squeeze in due to a play-off round.
"I think [the fixture congestion] is already here," Arteta said, "but I think after the World Cup, it is going to be even worse, so I think it is good preparation for what is coming."
The mood at Arsenal remains positive, though, as Arteta's side lead the Premier League and could stretch their advantage to four points ahead of Manchester City visiting Liverpool later on Sunday.
That prospect was put to the Gunners boss, but his focus was only on Leeds.
"The trick is how are we going to prepare for Leeds, mentally and physically," he said. "It's going to be a battle.
"We know the way they play and how intense it is going to be and the crowd that they have, so it's going to be a challenge. We have to be at our best again to win there."
‘Excited’ Gareth Taylor wants his Manchester City team to take advantage
Gareth Taylor has urged Manchester City to step up and seize their moment in the Women’s Super League title race.
Chelsea returned to the summit on goal difference on Wednesday night with a 3-0 win over Aston Villa but Taylor’s team will play twice before the current champions get the chance to add to their 46-point tally.
While Chelsea switch their attention to Champions League semi-final action with Barcelona over the next two weekends, City host West Ham on Sunday before they travel to Bristol City on April 28 with the aim of being six points clear going into May.
Taylor told a press conference: “Wednesday night changed things around a little bit again but of course we play now two games before Chelsea play again, so it is an important moment for us to step up and do our bit.
“That is all we will do. Attack the next game, give it our very best and do what we can.
“Yeah, I’m excited about this next period and think it is a great opportunity for us.
“If we had looked at that at the beginning of the season, knowing that most of the time the WSL goes to the final game, I think it is a fantastic position for us to be in.
“We’ve worked so hard and we don’t want to lose that opportunity. We want to continue with it and take it all the way.”
City will have first-choice Khiara Keating in goal after she was able to shake off the knee issue which forced her to leave England national team duty earlier this month.
View this post on InstagramGrace Clinton will be a notable absentee due to the terms of her loan at Spurs from United and she will also be unavailable at Wembley on May 12.
Tottenham head coach Robert Vilahamn has made no secret of his desire to keep the England international beyond this season-long loan but his opposite number Marc Skinner talked up his future hopes for Clinton in a United shirt.
Skinner said: “When we signed Grace two seasons ago, it was that we saw this level of potential for sure.
“It’s really interesting talking to people around her and so on, there is still loads more we can give to her and we can keep adding to her.
“But I can’t stress this enough, the whole reason she went on loan was to be able to do that.
“We couldn’t give her the minutes that needed her to be able to do that but she has now proven she is in that space, she has had that exposure and I look forward to welcoming her back to do that for Manchester United.”
Sunday’s other fixture will see third-placed Arsenal host Leicester with the Gunners eager to close the gap on Chelsea, which stands at six points with four fixtures left to play.
On this day in 2018: Arsene Wenger announces his Arsenal exit
On this day in 2018, Arsene Wenger announced he would step down as Arsenal manager at the end of the season after almost 22 years in the role.
Appointed in September 1996, the Frenchman had presided over a glittering period in the club’s history which yielded three Premier League titles, the last of them famously secured by his “Invincibles”, who went through the 2003-04 league campaign unbeaten.
In addition, former Nancy, Monaco and Grampus Eight boss Wenger guided the club to FA Cup glory on seven occasions and secured 20 successive seasons of Champions League football during a reign spanning 1,235 matches, 828 of them in the top flight.
However, his announcement came amid mounting disquiet over the club’s showing in both the Premier League and Europe, with three FA Cup successes in four years failing to placate his critics.
Wenger said: “After careful consideration and following discussions with the club, I feel it is the right time for me to step down at the end of the season.
“I am grateful for having had the privilege to serve the club for so many memorable years. I managed the club with full commitment and integrity.”
Majority owner Stan Kroenke paid tribute to the man who had gone toe-to-toe with Manchester United counterpart Sir Alex Ferguson and Chelsea’s Jose Mourinho.
Kroenke said: “This is one of the most difficult days we have ever had in all our years in sport.
“One of the main reasons we got involved with Arsenal was because of what Arsene has brought to the club on and off the pitch.
“His longevity and consistency over such a sustained period at the highest level of the game will never be matched. Arsene has unparalleled class and we will always be grateful to him.”
Wenger, described by Ferguson as “without doubt one of the greatest Premier League managers” and by former Gunners skipper Tony Adams as “the greatest Arsenal manager”, bowed out after a 1-0 final-day victory at Huddersfield on May 13, 2018.
The 68-year-old said afterwards: “I feel that I got a lot of respect not only from our fans, but from England. I would reiterate I loved English football, but I also learned to love England. You do not stay 22 years if you don’t like it.”
Raith Rovers keep unlikely title bid alive with narrow victory at Inverness
Raith Rovers rode their luck to keep alive their slender cinch Championship title hopes with a smash-and-grab 1-0 win at third-bottom Inverness.
Caley Thistle, looking for a third successive win to further boost their survival push, hit the goal frame four times and saw visiting goalkeeper Kevin Dabrowski produce a host of stunning saves.
But in the end it was Lewis Vaughan’s 49th-minute strike that settled the contest as Raith, who could have seen leaders Dundee United win the league on Saturday if they had lost at Caledonian Stadium, close the gap on the pacesetters to three points.
Duncan Ferguson’s Inverness created several good chances to take the lead in a one-sided first half, with Dabrowski keeping out Cammy Harper’s 25-yard free-kick before Alex Samuel was denied by a goalline block.
The hosts came even closer in the 21st minute when Harper fired against the bar and then saw Dabrowski fling up a leg and somehow manage to block his follow-up.
Rovers had done little to prove they were the team at the top end of the able in the first half but four minutes after the restart they took the lead, top scorer Vaughan getting on the end of a flick-on to coolly guide the ball past Mark Ridgers.
That proved to be the game’s decisive moment as the Raith goal continued to lead a charmed life, Samuel seeing a curling shot come back off the far post and the brilliant Dabrowski turned over a shot from the same player.
Inverness then hit the crossbar twice in quick succession, Danny Devine and James Carragher seeing headers come back off the goal frame, before Dabrowski tipped over a stoppage-time effort as Raith somehow held on for the three points.
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