Henrikh Mkhitaryan is set to make his Arsenal debut in Tuesday night’s Premier League clash at Swansea.
The Armenia international joined from Manchester United in exchange for Alexis Sanchez last week and is expected to feature at the Liberty Stadium.
The Gunners are also boosted by the return of Olivier Giroud following a hamstring injury but fellow forward Danny Welbeck (hip) is still missing, as is Santi Cazorla (Achilles).
Giroud has been the subject of much speculation regarding his future with the French international mooted to be part of a deal to take Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to the Emirates.
Reports across Germany on Monday suggested a deal for Aubameyang was nearing completion and would be finalised with, or without, Giroud.
Both Bild and Kicker believe Giroud could move across London to Chelsea, with out-of-favour Blues striker Michy Batshuayi making the move to Dortmund in what would be an unlikely transfer triangle.
Swansea come into the game having picked up an unlikely three points against Liverpool in their last league outing, but followed that up with a disappointing one-all draw away at Notts County in the FA Cup.
Carlos Carvalhal will be hoping to lead the Swans to their first back to back wins in the league this campaign, but the omens are not great.
The Portuguese boss will become the seventh Swansea boss to face Arsene Wenger during his two decades at the Gunners – with the Welsh side on the wrong end of the scoreline four of the last five encounters.
The Liberty Stadium club have enjoyed something of a renaissance under Carvalhal, despite still being rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table – three points adrift of safety.
Since his arrival, the Swans have picked up seven points in four games – two points more than in their previous nine under Paul Clement.
In need of new blood, Swansea had reportedly turned their attention to West Ham’s Diafra Sakho and Atletico Madrid’s Nico Gaitan, but neither seems to be materialising. Regardless of whether or not they do get a deal over the line, it is unlikely to be done in time for the Gunners clash.
