Sporting Lisbon host the Premier League leaders in the Europa League on Thursday night, and with several key figures appearing to pick up knocks in recent weeks, we are running you through the latest Arsenal injury update.
The Gunners head into their first European knockout clash of the season off the back of a thrilling comeback victory against Bournemouth, and in doing so restored a five point cushion at the top of the Premier League table.
Although Arsenal fans will be fully focused on the league, major European silverware has evaded the Londoners since their Cup Winner’s Cup triumph in 1994, and the ability to compete for both trophies could signal a major shift of power in their favour.
Despite this, worries over the capacity of their squad and its depth remain a concern for the Arsenal faithful, and several key names remain out of action for this first-leg Europa League tie away to Sporting Lisbon.
Arsenal Injury Update
Eddie Nketiah
Although Mikel Arteta has experimented without a recognised striker in recent fixtures, the Spaniard did later reveal Eddie Nketiah has struggled with a minor injury concern in recent matches.
“We are assessing him,” Arteta said in his recent press conference. “It’s a bit uncertain what will happen with him to be honest in the training sessions.
“Let’s see, let’s keep the options open. He’s very positive about it and hopefully he’ll be fine.”
With concerns elsewhere across the forward line, Nketiah may feature on Thursday should he be fully fit, particularly after sporadic appearances of late.
Jorginho
January signing Jorginho was hauled off at half-time after an apparent illness against Everton, but was named on the bench in the 3-2 win over Bournemouth on the weekend – he should be ready to make an appearance in midweek.
Arteta said: “Jorgi’s [Jorginho] is fine. He had an illness and he put in a great shift but we decided to take him off [vs Everton].”
Leandro Trossard
The Belgian has been electric since making the switch to North London, but a collective groan could be heard amongst Gunners fans as he exited the field with an injury after just 20 minutes over the weekend.
“It is a worry, he came to me straight away and said he couldn’t continue, he’d felt something when he was tracking back, so we had to take him off.
“We’ll assess him and see how he is.”
Emile Smith-Rowe
Emile Smith-Rowe was replaced by eventual match-winner Reiss Nelson, despite the former coming on for Trossard after 20 minutes.
Smith-Rowe has just returned from a lengthy spell on the sidelines following groin surgery, and it appears Arteta’s change was both tactical and protective of his player, who is still returning full fitness.
“We didn’t plan to throw him in so early. We knew it was difficult for him to last 70 minutes on the field after missing nearly five months.
“But I think he had a good impact but at the end, I felt we needed something else on the left because we were lacking threat and we were attracting more players into that side. That’s why we made the decision to bring Reiss on.”
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