Team news

Team news: the latest on Tomiyasu and Lacazette

Mikel Arteta provided an update on the availability of two of his players who were ruled out of Saturday’s defeat at Southampton, as he prepares to take on Chelsea.

The Gunners will look to end a three-game losing streak when we travel to Stamford Bridge on Wednesday evening, and during his pre-match press conference, the boss was asked about the progress of captain Alexandre Lacazette and defender Takehiro Tomiyasu.

“With Laca we are assessing him today to see if he is available with the team,” he said.

“Obviously as you all know he had Covid so he’s been away for a few days. So we’re trying to get [how] he’s feeling and where he’s at if he can contribute somehow with the team.”

On Tomiyasu, who has missed 11 games with a calf injury, he stated: “Tomi is very, very close. Whether this game is going to be too early for him or not, again we will decide it today after the training session.”