Sunderland manager Sam Allardyce faces a selection dilemma ahead of his sides clash with title-chasing Arsenal on Saturday.
Tense times
The coach is currently sweating over the fitness of key players Jermain Defoe (hamstring) and Sebastian Larsson (knee) ahead of tough month for the Black Cats.
Saturday's clash at the Emirates is just the first of what could prove to be season-changing run with matches against Watford, Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool to follow and big Sam will be desperate to have a full-strength side ahead of those tough clashes.
Knocking on the door
One player that will be available for Saturday's clash will be defender Billy Jones who was absent from the 2-0 victory over Stoke City last Saturday as he served a one-match suspension.
Jones had previously started every match under Allardyce before his ban but it seems that Tottenham loanee DeAndre Yedlin will be fighting the ex-Brighton man for his place in the starting XI.
In their back-to-back victories over Crystal Palace and Stoke respectively the ex-West Ham United coach has adopted the 3-5-2 formation which seems to have brought out the best in Yedlin and Patrick Van Aanholt who have adopted the wing-back roles which could give Allardyce something to ponder ahead of the trip to North London.
Food for thought
Speaking to the Sunderland Echo, the 22-year-old said that Jones had been "playing well" but he is hopeful that he has given the manager "something to think about" and make his job "hard" as who to put into the starting XI and he believes he has "done that".
The change of system seems to have worked so far as those back-to-back victories has managed to drag Sunderland out of the relegation zone for the first time since the opening day of the campaign.
Yedlin added that the win was "big" for the sides confidence but remained realistic saying the Black Cats "can't get too excited" as the fixture with Arsene Wenger's side will be a "very tough game".
The American international said that getting out of the bottom three was a "big boost" psychologically but said that Sunderland they have to put just as much effort into "every single game".
Arsenal will host Sunderland at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday, December 5 with kick-off at 3PM BST.