Arsenal have enjoyed a remarkable recovery from three straight Premier League defeats at the start of the season to go unbeaten in their next eight games, winning six of those.
Mikel Arteta brought about this turnaround by relying on a core group of players to form the spine of his side, veering away from the chopping and changing which had been hampering them.
Benjamin White and Gabriel have cemented themselves as the first-choice centre-back partnership with Aaron Ramsdale in goal.
Takehiro Tomiyasu has been a revelation at right-back and, further up the pitch, the likes of Emile Smith Rowe, Bukayo Saka and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang are shoo-ins on the team sheet.
The benefits of a small squad in a tried-and-tested system are clear to see, but it also means there are many Arsenal players firmly out of the first-team frame.
This is especially true with the Gunners not competing in Europe this season, which means the opportunities for fringe players to earn minutes are even more scarce.
Mohamed Elneny has only made two starts in all competitions this season and reports in Turkey claim the 29-year-old is poised to join Galatasaray.
Here, Mirror Football takes a look at some of the players who could follow Elneny out of the Emirates in the January window or next summer.
Eddie Nketiah
Like Elneny, Nketiah's two starts this season came in the Carabao Cup and he has only been named on the bench in the Premier League once.
The Hale End academy graduate, 22, is out of contract next summer and Arsenal are faced with losing him at a bargain price just months after he was linked with a £20million transfer to West Ham United.
Nketiah needs regular minutes if he is ever going to step up from England Under-21 to the senior side, but they do not appear forthcoming under Arteta and a move to Crystal Palace has been mooted.
Bernd Leno
Fate has conspired against Leno over the last couple of years.
The German goalkeeper, 29, was one of Arsenal's best players in the 2019/20 campaign before injury ruled him out for many months, and he struggled to show his best form last season.
Ramsdale arrived to provide competition this summer and the England international quickly wrestled No.1 status from his teammate.
Leno appears unlikely to settle for appearances in the domestic cups and he could push for an exit.
Cedric Soares
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The Portuguese full-back has also been displaced by a summer arrival.
Cedric, 30, has lost his spot in defence to Tomiyasu, 23, and he has not made a Premier League start since Jack Grealish flummoxed him in the 5-0 defeat by Manchester City in late August.
There can be no doubt his Japanese teammate is Arteta's go-to right-back and, despite being contracted until 2024, he will need to depart if he wants to play regular football.
Sead Kolasinac
On the other side of defence, Kolasinac appears to have had his day.
The 28-year-old's deal expires next summer and he has made just four appearances in all competitions this season, with his start against Leeds United in the Carabao Cup reminding many fans he was on the club's books.
Kolasinac was relegated further down the left-back pecking order by Nuno Tavares' arrival this summer and he cannot continue in his old centre-back role due to Arteta's preference for a back four.
Folarin Balogun
The 20-year-old prospect started against Brentford on the opening day of the season due to Arsenal's attacking injury crisis, but he has made just two substitute appearances since then.
Balogun has spent most of the campaign with the Under-23s, scoring 10 goals in eight Premier League 2 fixtures, and the next step in his development could take him on loan in search of senior football.
The US-born England U21 star extended his contract until 2025 in April.
The centre-backs
With Gabriel and White clearly Arteta's partnership of choice, uncertainty clouds the futures of Rob Holding, Calum Chambers and Pablo Mari.
The Arsenal boss will struggle to give the three back-up centre-backs the minutes they desire and one of them may need to make way for the good of a more balanced squad.
As Holding wore the captain's armband against Leeds in the Carabao Cup, Chambers or Mari could be the likelier option to depart.
The loanees
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Arteta and sporting director Edu will have plenty of decisions to make next summer as numerous players return to the club from loan spells across Europe.
Those who do not appear to be in Arteta's plans include Konstantinos Mavropanos and Alex Runarsson, who are spending the season with Stuttgart and Leuven respectively.
Matteo Guendouzi also falls into this category, as he has not featured for Arsenal since falling out with Arteta in the summer of 2020 and was loaned to Marseille in July.
Hector Bellerin will have one year remaining on his contract when he returns from Real Betis, while Reiss Nelson and William Saliba - at Feyenoord and Marseille respectively - appear to have the best chances of a future at Arsenal.
Finally, Lucas Torreira will hope to convince Fiorentina to make his loan deal permanent next summer after falling out of favour at the Gunners.
