Mikel Arteta hopes to have both Jorginho and Eddie Nketiah available for tomorrow’s game against Bournemouth at Emirates Stadium.
The pair both ended the game against Everton worse for wear, with he Italian forced off at half-time having battled through the opening 45 minutes despite being ill, while Eddie limped off following the full-time whistle.
Mikel has had the thumbs up on Jorginho, and while Eddie isn’t as clear-cut, he is hopeful he’ll have his striker fit and available for the visit of the Cherries.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, he said: “We are assessing [Eddie] and it’s a bit uncertain what’s going to happen with him, to be honest. Let’s see and keep the options open. He’s very positive about it, so hopefully he will be fine.
“Jorgi’s fine. He had an illness and he was suffering but to be fair, he put in a great effort and shift in the first half. We decided to take him off but he’s fit now.”
One player edging closer to a first-team return is Gabriel Jesus, who has been back in training with his teammates, albeit in non-contact sessions.
The boss is hoping to have the striker available sooner rather than later, but still doesn’t want to put a timeframe on when exactly his name could reappear on a teamsheet for the first time since November.
“He’s not far now,” Arteta updated. “I don’t want to give a timeline but he’s doing certain things with the team and certain things outside the team. He’s not very close but he’s not far at all. He’s feeling better every day and the doctors are confident with the way the injury is evolving.
“We need to see when he’s back what level he is, how we’re going to fit him in and how we’re going to load him with minutes and in which games. Like everybody else, he’ll have to earn his place but we know what Gaby can give to the team.
“I think [his rehab] been pretty straightforward. At the beginning, we were really concerned with the possible extent of the injury because we were talking about a few options there. Thankfully it wasn’t that bad, but it was a long-term injury, it required surgery and it’s not [pleasant], especially the first few weeks.
“But knowing Gaby, he’s been through that before. His mentality is incredible and the [physio] team has done a really good job with him to put him in the position he’s in today.”
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