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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Matthew Cooper

Arsenal handed triple injury boost ahead of huge Villarreal Europa League showdown

Arsenal stars Kieran Tierney, Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang could all feature in the Gunners' crucial Europa League semi-final second leg clash with Villarreal on Thursday.

Aubameyang is in contention to start, having recently returned to action after contracting malaria while on international duty with Gabon.

The forward came on late in the first leg and lasted 77 minutes of the Gunners' 2-0 win over Newcastle at the weekend, with manager Mikel Arteta saying that Aubameyang is "in a good place".

Speaking at his pre-match press conference, Arteta said: "He played well [vs Newcastle] and he felt much better than the days before that. Obviously, scoring a goal is really important for him as well, so he's in a good place."

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is in contention to start for Arsenal against Villarreal, after lasting 77 minutes against Newcastle at the weekend (Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

Meanwhile, Tierney and Lacazette have returned to full training ahead of the Villarreal clash and Arteta is set to make a late call on their involvement.

Tierney has been out of action since the start of April with a knee problem, while Lacazette has missed Arsenal's last three games with a hamstring injury.

Arteta has urged his team to "take the opportunity" against Villarreal, as they seek to come back from a 2-1 defeat in the first leg and reach the Europa League final.

Kieran Tierney is back in full training (Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
Alexandre Lacazette is also back in full training (Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

He said: "It's time to change it. We have to embrace the challenge and the opportunity we have ahead.

"I think it's the 10th time that the club has been in a European semi-final, so it doesn't happen very often. We have to take the opportunity tomorrow and earn the right to be in the final.

"We obviously didn't get the result that we wanted but with the context and the situation that happened during the game, we got out of that situation in a pretty good way considering the circumstances and playing 40 minutes with 10 men."

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