Mikel Arteta has been rather coy with regards to which Arsenal players will be unavailable for selection against Brentford.
Despite confirming that Ben White is fit - amid suggestions the defender is struggling with a hip/knee problem - the Gunners head to west London for the lunchtime kick-off on Sunday without Mohamed Elneny and with at least six first-team stars considered a doubt to be in contention.
Even with the Ukraine national team revealing that Oleksandr Zinchenko is facing up to a fortnight with a calf muscle injury, Arteta refused to rule the £32m Arsenal summer signing out of the Brentford game, whilst Saturday's training session will determine if Thomas Partey, for example, can make his return after four games on the sidelines.
READ MORE: Every word Mikel Arteta said on Ben White, Zinchenko's fitness and Smith Rowe's injury
"Unfortunately, that day will be tomorrow when we have the last training session," the Spaniard - who has been named Premier League Manager of the Month for August - told reporters when asked for an update on team news during his pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon. "Today there’s not much to give.
[On Zinchenko amid the Ukraine statement] "Again, we have to wait until tomorrow to make that decision. Where he was at that moment and what we have decided to do for the international week doesn’t mean that we will decide the same for the weekend. So it’s something we will address tomorrow.
"Tomorrow, whoever we have to rule out is going to be tomorrow. We have those 24 hours still to see if one or two can be considered for training and for selection, but that will be key in the next 24 hours."
Those comments indicate that Arteta will leave it as late as possible to make a decision on Partey and Zinchenko's possible inclusions against the Bees, whilst in addition, there could be an outside chance for Reiss Nelson and/or Cedric Soares to be involved in the final training session after injury.
With that said, it would appear that Emile Smith Rowe will play no part in the London derby as a frustrating start to the new season is set to continue for the 22-year-old. During the post-match warm-down against Manchester United earlier in the month, the attacking midfielder looked distressed as he headed back to the dressing room after pulling up with an injury.
Subsequently, he missed the start of the Gunners' Europa League campaign against FC Zurich and the fact he's not been included in the England U21s squad for the upcoming international fixtures can be seen as a major hint that he will not be in contention for his club side this weekend.
Arteta has moved to acknowledge that Smith Rowe is currently struggling with a groin problem but has assured the Hale End graduate that he is still regarded as a key member of the squad: "That's been an ongoing issue that he’s had. He’s had some discomfort in the groin area and hasn’t had any continuity this season," the Arsenal boss added. "It’s something we are trying to assess.
"We're trying to help him as much as possible in any way we can because we need him fit, we need him available and we need him performing at his best level because he’s such an important player for us. Unfortunately for this period and periods last year we haven’t had him."
The good news regarding Smith Rowe is that he is seemingly in good spirits and on the road to recovery. Last weekend, when responding to Cedric's post on Instagram of the pair on bikes which read: "Recovering to come back stronger", firstly the Arsenal No.10 commented with a prayer hand and muscle emoji before uploading the image onto his Instagram stories with a two-word message that read: "Let's go".
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