Thomas Partey may have teased his return to the Arsenal squad for the FA Cup third-round tie against Newcastle United.
The £45million summer signing from Atletico Madrid has been out of action since the 2-0 North London Derby defeat at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur when it was clear he was rushed back from injury too soon.
As a result, he's missed the last eight Arsenal games across all competitions - including the last three in the Premier League as Mikel Arteta's side have returned to form.
Next up is a visit from the Magpies to the Emirates Stadium as the Gunners begin the defence of the trophy they won by beating Chelsea all the way back in August.
And Arteta finds himself in a rather luxurious position ahead of kick-off.
With Crystal Palace to come in the league next Thursday and with the luxury of virtually having a fully fit squad to choose from, the Gunners manager isn't short of options.
Gabriel Magalhaes returned to training on Friday and could replace either Rob Holding or Pablo Mari in central defence, while Gabriel Martinelli is pushing for a recall after being rested against West Brom.
But is Partey in line for a return to the matchday squad?
That may be the case as if his social media activity is anything to go by.
Taking to Instagram, the 27-year-old has done his best to hype up the big game in north London which could suggest he's in line for a recall.
Interestingly, the likes of Willian, Nicolas Pepe, and Gabriel Magalhaes have done similar whenever they've been included in an Arsenal matchday squad this season.
However, it should be noted that Partey has also done this in the past for games that he's missed.
The most recent example was the Boxing Day win over Chelsea last month, although the situation is different now as Arteta has already revealed that the midfielder is in contention for a return.
"Well, we’ve got an extra two training sessions. We will assess after that whether he’s completely fully ready to start or participate against Newcastle or if we’re gonna leave it another few days for the Palace game," manager Mikel Arteta said in his pre-match press conference on Thursday.
"But he’s been training really good. He’s comfortable. He’s not aware of the injury right now. He’s done more than what he did after the injury when he played against Spurs.
"So he’s in a good space, a good mood and you can see the player he is when he’s training."
