Arsenal boost as TWO stars return to squad for Nottingham Forest clash as Arteta tries to recover from PSV defeat

MOHAMED ELNENY and Marquinhos have given Arsenal a much-needed fitness boost.

But Oleksandr Zinchenko and Gabriel Magalhaes face fitness tests as the Gunners look to return to the top of the Premier League with a win over Nottingham Forest on Sunday.

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Elneny is back in training after an injury in September ended his bright start to the season.

The 30-year-old Egyptian midfielder had shone as a replacement for Thomas Partey.

And while he’s unlikely to feature this weekend, he’s expected to be operational soon.

Brazil winger Marquinhos, 19, is expected to be back in the squad after missing out on Thursday’s 2-0 Europa League defeat at PSV Eindhoven.

The biggest fitness focus, however, is on the in-form duo of Zinchenko and centre-back Gabriel.

Zinchenko is expected to replace Kieran Tierney at left-back when he is at 100 per cent.

And boss Mikel Arteta is hoping to bring Gabriel back into central defense alongside William Saliba.

Arteta will make changes anyway, especially as he was shocked by the drop in performance in Holland.

He said: “I’m very disappointed. It’s the end of a long run in which we’ve won a lot of games… and we have to reset.”

The Spaniard was particularly frustrated by the Gunners’ poor build-up game.

He explained: “We didn’t get any control. We didn’t get the ball in the areas we wanted.

“We gave away so many balls, which allowed for so many transitions, which is what they were looking for when they got into the right structure.

“They handled a lot of things that were different last week.”

Long-term absentee Emile Smith Rowe and stand-in goalkeeper Matt Turner will both miss Sunday’s game against the Emirates with groin problems.