Arsenal take on Bournemouth on Saturday afternoon looking to maintain their pace in the Premier League title race.
The Gunners sit top of the table with Manchester City breathing down their necks. Pep Guardiola's side sit one point behind Arsenal but hold a game in hand.
Mikel Arteta and co will be hoping to go one place better than last season but still require City to slip up. Regardless of the outcome of this season, the progress of the club is undeniable however. The Cherries were Arsenal's first opponent's after appointing Arteta in December 2019. Things have changed considerably since that moment.
The Gunners drew that Boxing Day clash with Arteta praising his side's 'attitude, desire and commitment' being 'better than I expected' after they came from behind. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang levelled the score after Dan Gosling's opening strike as Arteta earned a point. The standards have only gone up.
Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale featured for the Cherries, while the north London side have seen all but two players from their starting XI move on. Mirror Football takes a look at where Arteta's lineup are now.
Bernd Leno - The German goalkeeper moved to Fulham in August 2022 and remains the Cottagers' first choice stopper.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles - After loans to Roma and Southampton, Maitland-Niles departed the Emirates last summer and joined Lyon on a free transfer. The Arsenal product has continued to prove his versatility on his way to 25 apperances for the Ligue 1 side.
Sokratis Papastathopoulos - The Greek veteran left Arsenal by mutual consent to spend two-and-a-half seasons at Olympiacos. The defender saw his contract expire before joining La Liga side Real Betis in October and has since made 11 appearances.
David Luiz - The defender returned to his native Brazil following the expiry of his contract in 2021. Luiz joined Flamengo and has racked up a century of appearances for the club.
Bukayo Saka - There will hopes that Saka spends his entire career with the Gunners after already making 228 appearances at just 22. Little needs to be said about the world class talent who has become an elite Premier League star.
Lucas Torreira - It was hoped that the Uruguay international would bring the necessary bite to Arsenal's midfield but the move never quite worked out. In 2022 Torreira moved to Galatasaray and won the Turkish Super Lig and Turkish Super Cup in 2023. The side currently lead the league with four matches remaining in 2024.
Granit Xhaka - The Swiss ace joined Bayer Leverkusen last summer and has yet to taste defeat. Xabi Alonso's side have claimed the Bundesliga title to overcome Bayern Munich's dominance and now will hope to earn Europa League success.
Reiss Nelson - The only other member of the lineup still at Arsenal. The winger spent a successful season at PSV in 2021/22 and has since spent his time at the Emirates. Nelson has made 41 appearances across the last two seasons and signed a new four-year contract ahead of this term.
Mesut Ozil - The midfielder left in controversial circumstances as his contract was terminated ahead of a move to Fenerbahce. After two terms with the Turkish side, the German World Cup winner moved to Istanbul Basaksehir on a one-year deal but announced his retirement during that season. The 35-year-old has spent plenty of time in the gym following the end of his career and undergone quite the transformation.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang - The forward's time at Arsenal ended in dramatic circumstances as he left the club via mutual consent after being stripped of the club's captaincy and omitted from the squad for disciplinary reasons. Aubameyang completed a move to Barcelona and bagged 13 goals in 24 appearances for the Catalan giants.
A further move to Chelsea followed which proved to be a failure and 12 months on Aubameyang joined Marseille. The former Borussia Dortmund star has returned to form and scored 27 goals this term.
Alexandre Lacazette - The Frenchman departed Arsenal at the end of his contract in 2022 to make a return to Lyon. The 32-year-old proved his quality with 31 goals in 39 appearances in his first year back and already has 19 goals in 31 outings this year despite Lyon's struggles.
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