Arsenal set to enter them Premier League Clash with Bournemouth without a well-known number nine.
Gabriel Jesus He is still recovering from the knee injury he suffered during the World Cup and is now Eddie Nketiah with an ankle problem is a doubt.
The Gunners are leading the weekend by five points after beating Everton 4-0 on Wednesday night.
Arteta’s side had three wins in a row after a short form signal by their nearest rivals Manchester City that resulted in them being temporarily eliminated from the top.
Nketiah is out of the bench in the last two games, Arteta prefers to play Leandro Trossard in a central role, but now both he and Jesus are cast aside for the Cherries’ visit.
Nketiah suffered an ankle injury that the club hoped was nothing serious, but Arteta admits he wasn’t sure about it.
Meanwhile, Isa has yet to return to contact training, and his recovery from knee surgery is expected to become clear over the next week.
“It’s not far now,” Arteta said. “I don’t want to give a timeline, but some things are inside the team and some things are outside of the team. It’s not too close, but it’s not far at all.
“He’s feeling better every day and the doctors are sure of the way the wound is going. I think we’re in a good place with him.
“At the beginning we were really worried about the possible extent of the injury because we were talking about a few options there.
“I say we are not far, but he needs to do more with the team. Let’s see how he will develop in the next 10 days and we will have a much better picture.”
Losing Jesus was seen as a potential blow to Arsenal’s title hopes, but the Gunners did well even in the absence of the four-time Premier League winner.
Asked if he would have to work for his place in the team, Arteta replied, “It probably wouldn’t be fair to him because he started every game and what he produced for the team was phenomenal.
“It’s true that we need to see what level he is at when he comes back, how we can fit him in and what minutes we’re going to put on him in what games.
“He will have to take his place like everyone else, but we know what Gabi can give the team.”
City could close the gap by up to two points before Arsenal’s kick-off at Emirates Stadium and Pep Guardiola’s team host Newcastle in Saturday’s early game.
Conversely, if they don’t manage to beat the Maggies, Arteta admits Arsenal could gain an advantage: “We definitely look at matches, when they’re live, before that. It could become an incentive,” he added.
“But I don’t think any extra motivation is needed. We know the difficulty of the fight, we are really looking forward to it and we are advancing match by match.”