Arsenal are back in Premier League action this Saturday as they welcome Leeds United to the Emirates Stadium. Mikel Arteta's men are looking to tick-off another game in the quest for their first league title in nearly 20 years.
The game is the first game since the final international break of the season. Prior, the Gunners had won their previous six games - stretching their lead over Manchester City to eight points with 10 games remaining.
Arteta has welcomed back a host of stars from national team duty, avoiding any major fresh injury concerns. With that being said, the north Londoners do have a number of distressing issues to deal with in the next two days.
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Over the break, Kieran Tierney and Thomas Partey picked up knocks to place their availability for the visit of Leeds into jeopardy. Tierney, who has been a bit-part player for Arsenal this season, was forced off after a strong tackle from Manchester City's Rodri.
It was the second time in the space of four days that Rodri has been involved with an Arsenal star. The Spanish midfielder caused unrest with Martin Odegaard on Saturday with a horror tackle inside the penalty box - luckily the Norwegian came away unscathed.
Tierney's fitness is expected to be assessed before the visit of Leeds, as with Partey. The Ghana international was an unused substitute for the African Cup of Nations qualification clash against Angola.
Ghana boss Chris Houghton claimed the decision was a 'precaution', with Arsenal physio, Simon Murphy, sent to Africa in a desperate bid to ensure the midfielder avoids any serious injuries. "Thomas has some small issues, a small injury tissue and we felt it was too big of a risk to start him," Hughton said when asked about Partey.
Alongside the anxious wait on Tierney and Partey, Arteta will have his fingers crossed that William Saliba's injury isn't too bad. The Frenchman limped off in Arsenal's exit from the Europa League against Sporting CP, forcing him to miss the win over Crystal Palace and withdraw from the France national squad.
."We hope Willy [Saliba] is going to be better news," Arteta said after Saliba was forced off. "Again, we have to wait to tomorrow to get a better picture." The seriousness of the back issue is yet to be known, though an update from Arteta on Friday.
Despite welcoming Gabriel Jesus back to action before the break, there will be hope that Eddie Nketiah will make his return to the squad. The striker has been out since the 4-0 win over Everton at the start of the month. "He's still in the boot. He's still a few weeks away and we need to be patient," Arteta said.
"It was a nasty injury and he has a big challenge ahead of him. Thank God it could have been worse. So he's not in a bad place."
Arsenal are only without two senior players. Takehiro Tomiyasu was ruled out for the rest of the season after suffering an unfortunate injury against Sporting. A statement from the club read: "Tomi has had successful surgery in London on Tuesday and will be ruled out for the remainder of this season. Everyone at the club will now be working hard with Tomi, so he can join pre-season training ahead of next season."
Elsewhere midfielder Mohamed Elneny is still out with a long-term knee injury.
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