Mikel Arteta will discover real impact of Arsenal's latest injury crisis this week

Arsenal head into this week's round of matches realising that their squad is likely to be seriously stretched after further injury blows during the draw with Liverpool.

Mikel Arteta's side performed admirably at the on Sunday, but their hard-fought point was somewhat overshadowed by the injury to and the Jurrien Timber concern. During his pre-match press conference, the Arsenal boss admitted that Timber was merely struggling with fatigue, but even that shall be seen as a warning side for the .

There is an acceptance that should be beating Preston in the even with rotation playing a factor. The likes of Jakub Kiwior, Myles Lewis-Skelly and are all expected to play some part at Deepdale ahead of Saturday's clash with Newcastle United, but as the injuries mount up, there comes a time when Arteta needs to make a big call.

This season, it appears the Gunners will not be able to rely on a small group of players to get them over the line. fringe squad will be more important than ever to Arteta as he attempts to negotiate a title challenge as well as the domestic cups and Europe.

For those players to be ready, they need to start gaining first-team experience in the Premier League and bit-part roles off the bench will not cut it. are perhaps the perfect example of how to manage their squad.

Pep Guardiola's team has perhaps greater depth than , but certain games could see greater rotation to help build fitness levels. Nwaneri and Lewis-Skelly should have played greater roles in the victory over Southampton earlier in the season to prepare them for the challenge that is to come.

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Newcastle, Inter and Chelsea are all on the horizon before we reach the international break and Arteta's lack of rotation up to this point could prove costly when preparing those squad players for these crucial matches. These next couple of weeks could prove whether Arsenal have the depth to sustain a proper title challenge this season or not.