The Arsenal head coach will be looking to use this weekend to determine the availability of Thomas Partey, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Takehiro Tomiyasu, and Gabriel Jesus, with the Gunners keen to kick off the new week with a seventh Premier League win in a row.
Thomas has featured just four times in the Premier League this season due to persistent muscle injuries, initially having a problem with his groin in September before picking up a hamstring injury which has kept him out of action since October, but his long-awaited return could be on the cards after five months out.
In addition, full-back pair Zinckenko and Tomiyasu could be set for returns of their own after battling calf problems, with the Ukraine international being replaced at halftime against Liverpool earlier this month, while the Japan international hasn’t appeared since New Year’s Eve in a surprise defeat against Fulham.
According to Arteta via the club’s official website, “Thomas had a session before the last game and now he’s done two consecutive sessions so he should be part of the squad on Monday. [Zinchenko and Tomiyasu] are possible but we have to wait and see, especially with the last two sessions that we have on Saturday and Sunday. If that’s the case, they might be available on Monday.”
Meanwhile, Jesus isn’t expected to feature for the full 90 minutes at Bramall Lane, but he could be involved from kick-off with Arteta claiming “he’s fit enough, but knowing how long he will last is something different probably, but we didn’t want to take any risks after the result that we had against Newcastle. Obviously, we need him fit. He’s a massive player for us and we want to make sure that now we load the players in the right way.”
The Brazilian did score in his last appearance against Nottingham Forest, also assisting Bukayo Saka’s winner in a 2-1 victory over Nuno Espírito Santo’s men, but was missing from the squad five days later for the visit of Liverpool, having picked up a knock in training that caused him to struggle with fluid in his knee.
Finally, Jurriën Timber took a big step towards his much anticipated return from an ACL injury, with the Dutch defender returning to first team training on Wednesday. He will not be part of Monday’s squad though, with any Premier League minutes coming too soon as he continues his recovery from a setback that took place all the way back on the opening day of the season.
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