Arsenal are starting to feel the full effects of a jam-packed football schedule, with player injuries landing thick and fast for Mikel Arteta

Arsenal closed the gap on Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table on Saturday, courtesy of a 2-0 win over Everton on home soil. However, maintaining pressure on the Cityzens will be no easy feat for Mikel Arteta's men.

The head coach has endured a tough start to the new season in terms of player injury, with a number of first-team players sidelined at present. William Saliba is yet to feature for the Gunners as a result of a back injury which flared up at the World Cup, while Bukayo Saka pulled up early doors during Arsenal's 3-3 draw with Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Christos Tzolis is also working his way back to fitness following a hamstring injury he picked up while representing Greece in the Nations League earlier this month, with Arsenal's attacking threat on the flanks being limited to Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze.

Riccardo Calafiori also raised concerns about his own fitness when he looked to be playing upfront for the closing stages of the Everton match, with Madueke filling in at left-back during eight minutes of stoppage time. The Italian full-back had only entered the fray 68 minutes in as a substitute for Myles Lewis-Skelly, but appeared to be struggling in the game's dying moments.

Arteta confirmed in the aftermath that Calafiori had a "slight issue," although the Spaniard also noted that it appears to be something "very small" that he he was reacting to. Declan Rice also sparked concern among select supports with his body language during Saturday afternoon's win over the Toffees at the Emirates Stadium.

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Declan Rice injury worry

Rice was selected to start for Saturday's match in north London, and was able to dominate the game from the centre of the park alongside Mikel Merino. However, the Englishman was subbed off with around 10 minutes of normal time left to play as Martin Zubimendi took his place.

While some thought it was a routine switch, moments before, some spotted rice reaching for his hamstring and squatting on the pitch before walking gingerly in the aftermath. While Arteta has a wealth of depth in central midfield, with the likes of Bruno Guimaraes and Max Dowman filling his bench for the Everton match, Rice's presence would certainly be missed should he face a period on the sidelines.

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The 27-year-old covers the ground like no other, is strong in the tackle, has brilliant vision and distribution and also provides an attacking threat from both open play and set pieces. As a result, fans will hope that it was just a case of fatigue for Rice, as opposed to a muscular issue.

Arsenal put wheels in motion for Brighton talent

Football Insider suggest that Arsenal are closely monitoring Brighton's Charalampos Kostoulas, with a view to signing him in the near future. The 19-year-old has enjoyed an incredibly fruitful start to the season, racking up five goals and three assists across 10 appearances overall.

While the Seagulls will have no intentions of parting ways with the marksman any time soon, considering he only joined the club last summer in a £30million move from Olympiakos, former Aston Villa, Everton and Tottenham Hotspur scout Brian King believes that the Gunners could try their luck.

He said: "Obviously, a lot of the plaudits went onto [Diego] Gomez for his wondergoal but again, another interesting player. Brighton go out and recruit them.

"They make their name with Brighton, and he's made his name quite quickly with Brighton, Kostoulas. People are obviously going to be looking at him as they've looked at all their players.

"It could be another big money move, and more pound notes in the pot for Brighton. I'm sure Arsenal have already looked at him.

"From what I'm told they're looking at him on the games he plays now. It's going to be very, very interesting to see how his future pans out."