Pre-match Analysis: Arsenal look to continue positive form against Everton
Arsenal celebrate their victory in the week against Monaco (Photo by Glyn Kirk/AFP via Getty Images 

Arsenal look to keep their fine momentum going into the festive period, with Everton their next opponents at the Emirates Stadium.

Since the last international break, the Gunners are yet to lose a game, with last week's 1-1 draw against Fulham their only dropped points in a turn of form for Mikel Arteta's team.

This Saturday looks like the perfect opportunity for Arsenal to carry on their unbeaten run, with a struggling Everton their next opponents.

The Toffee's 4-0 thrashing of Gary O'Neil's Wolves is their only win in six games, with Everton only managing five away points in seven league games this season - leaving them third from bottom in the away standings with Arsenal third in the home table.

This would put the Gunners as heavy favourites in this game, with Arsenal doing the double over Everton last season.

In his press conference, Arteta confirmed that Gabriel Magalhaes was in first-team training today and is in contention to play this Saturday, with Riccardo Calafiori still being monitored by the medical team.

  • Set piece threat nullified?

In the Champions League game against Monaco, the away team left three players at the halfway line, exposing Arsenal for the counter-attack and somewhat lowering Arsenal's threat from corners.

With the Gunners in fine form from set pieces, this could be a tricky situation that set piece coach Nicolas Jover now has to react to, and it will be interesting to see whether Sean Dyche takes a similar approach, or how Jover reacts to these changes.

Since Dyche came in as Everton manager, 42.5 per cent of their goals have come from set pieces, giving Arsenal more of a headache in both boxes.

The fact that Everton do not have a set-piece coach makes the stat more remarkable, with Dyche jokingly calling himself "a dinosaur", with now many teams now relying on a set-piece coach.

  • Arsenal's midfield three finally in action

Because of long-term injuries to Mikel Merino and Martin Odegaard, Arsenal have not been able to use their best midfield.

The likes of Jorginho and Thomas Partey have filled in, with the latter in fine form, but this has forced Declan Rice to move from his natural six position to a more attacking role, wasting his defensive and transitional skills.

Now with Merino fit to play in that left eight role, Rice can revert back to his six role, and the impact of that was shown against Monaco in the week, with Rice's defensive presence helped keep a clean sheet, along with Merino's attacking presence and his link up on the left-hand side.

With Odegaard doing his thing in the right eight position, this midfield looks to be the one which will take Arsenal through the rest of the season, if they can stay fit.

  • Arteta given headache over team selection

The last few matchdays have seen another flair-up in injuries for the Gunners, especially in the full-back area.

Partey has filled in at right back, and is likely to stay there with Jurrien Timber coming back in at left back after the Dutch international played 26 minutes in the week.

Desipte this, Arteta may choose to play Myles Lewis-Skelly in left back, with the 18-year-old having impressed in his Champions League debut against Monaco, as he inverted into the midfield and showed his calm nature and ability on the ball in certain situations.

If he started left-back, this would free Timber to take up the right-back position, allowing Bukayo Saka to have an overlapping option when attacking, pushing his game up to another level again.

With the possibility of Gabriel coming back from injury this weekend, Jakub Kiwior could also drop to the bench, with the Polish defender having played 90 minutes in three previous games for Arsenal.

Finally, the left-wing role will also be one where Arteta needs to think about, with Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli squabbling over in recent games.

With both players struggling to find their best form, it could open the door for Chelsea loanee Raheem Sterling to get his chance in the team, with the 30-year-old finding game time hard to come by since joining in the summer.