Saka, Saliba, and Trossard of Arteta are all injured.

 Mikel Arteta confesses that he will need to"We obviously haven't had a lot of players," he said of his selection quandaries. Today is the first training session,
and we will know more after the session.

"I have an idea [of his starting XI], but I need to see them all together today and see how everyone is because we have a lot of people tra

 examine the condition of Bukayo Saka, William Saliba, and Leandro Trossard in today's penultimate training session before our game against Chelsea on Saturday.

The trio withdrew from their international squads a fortnight ago due to a variety of minor problems, with Bukayo and Leandro suffering from hamstring strains and William suffering from a toe injury.

These reservations, along with the fact that 14 players have been away with their national teams in the last ten days, mean that while Mikel has an idea of the 11 players he wants to field against Stamford Bridge, he isn't ruling anyone in or out at this point.

Bukayo was forced off injured against Lens in the Champions League nearly three weeks ago and missed his first Premier League game in 88 games against Manchester City.

It has been suggested that the time between matches was beneficial to him, but Mikel was quick to point out that, despite not playing competitive football, the rehab our attacker has been putting in means it hasn't been the quietest of times for him.

"I'm sure he wants to play," Mikel said of his chances of facing Chelsea. I don't see any players who don't want to be in the starting lineup. He's been working really hard to get in shape for this game, so let's see where he is today. He needed a couple of days off, but the rest has not been rest for him because he needed the treatment and training to be ready to play against Chelsea.

"I believe we must play him when we see he is in the right mental, physical, and performance condition." That's another story, but when he's played that many minutes, it's because we believe he's prepared to handle it."

Meanwhile, William has been dealing with a toe problem and saw the international break as an opportunity to try to resolve it, but the boss admits that his participation is also in doubt.

Mikel speculated on whether the injury would reoccur: "Hopefully not, but he has been carrying that for weeks now, and we have to use that time to settle." We believe that now is the best time to do so."

Mikel Arteta will be reunited with his old teammate and colleague, Mauricio Pochettino, in the opposing dugout at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

The pair played together at Paris Saint-Germain in 2001/02 before Mikel moved to Rangers. Mauricio would later speak with Mikel about getting into coaching in the future.

Mikel recalled, "My first professional opportunity was in Paris, and we arrived at the same time, and we lived together in the same hotel for three months."

"He was crucial; he was one of the most influential people in my football career - first and foremost as a player [because] he took me under his wing and looked after me like a little brother." He was a big part of my success in Paris because he really looked after me and gave me a lot of confidence and advice. 

He's been a role model for me since that day, not only as a player but also as a manager. I had to make the decision to stop playing and begin coaching, and he had a big say in that. I will be eternally grateful for everything he has done for me."

Mikel and Mauricio have met 'a couple of times' since the latter took over as Chelsea manager in the summer. But, back in the late 2010s, what was Mauricio's advice to Mikel?

Coaching is too difficult to pursue! "That was the first thing," he jokingly said. "I knew he was going to be a coach, obviously because as a player he was already a leader, and the way he understood the game was phenomenal." I used to have him constantly coaching me, and I'm very proud of what he's accomplished, particularly how he's accomplished it throughout his coaching career.