Arsenal take on West Ham Utd on Saturday and Mikel Arteta is reportedly set to be handed a double injury boost for the encounter with their London rivals.
The Gunners have enjoyed a positive start to the new campaign, initially lifting the Community Shield last month before starting the league season with a 3-0 win over Fulham last weekend.
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The good news continued off the pitch too with talisman Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang signing a new contract, and so Mikel Arteta will undoubtedly be desperate to keep that good run going.
It won’t be easy against a West Ham side desperate for points and a confidence boost, but the Spaniard will hope to have two key players available for the clash.
As noted by the club’s official site, David Luiz is back in full training after recovering from a neck spasm, and so it remains to be seen if the Brazilian is in contention this weekend as he could be an experienced and quality option on the bench if needed.
Meanwhile, as per injury expert Ben Dinnery’s tweet below, there is no mention in the report above of Granit Xhaka who appeared to pick up a knock against Fulham, but given the club have felt there is no need to offer an update on his condition, that would suggest that he is not a doubt to feature this weekend at all.
Elsewhere, the injury bulletin from Arsenal offers updates on Calum Chambers, Pablo Mari, Gabriel Martinelli, Shkodran Mustafi, Emile Smith Rowe and Sokratis, and while none of those individuals are expected to offer Arteta an immediate boost, the updates suggest that they are all making positive progress in their respective recoveries and will hope to add more quality and depth to the squad in the coming weeks and months with Smith Rowe and Sokratis tipped to return in early October.
David Luiz (neck) is making "good progress" and the Brazilian has returned to full training. No mention of Granit Xhaka (ankle) on the Arsenal website, so assume the knock that he picked up at Fulham was only minor.
— Ben Dinnery (@BenDinnery) September 18, 2020