Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Football London
Football London
Sport
Robert Warlow

Arsenal news: Emery's selection hint for Spurs, Lacazette injury update, triple defensive boost

The countdown is on to the first north London derby of the season, with Arsenal set to welcome rivals Spurs to the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.

The two north London rivals go head-to-head in the final Premier League game of the weekend, with the clash at the home of the Gunners set to round off the first month of Premier League action before the first international break of the campaign.

Arsenal boss Unai Emery has been speaking to the media ahead of the game, while his opposite number Mauricio Pochettino will be talking to reporters today (Friday).

And we look at the latest news ahead of the north London derby, below.

Alexandre Lacazette update

It has been a slow start to the new season for Alexandre Lacazette, with the Frenchman only featuring in two of the Gunners' three Premier League games so far.

The 28-year-old did score in his only start against Burnley as Arsenal won 2-1 at the Emirates Stadium, but he was substituted after 71 minutes against the Clarets, and he only played nine minutes when coming off the bench last weekend in the 3-1 defeat against Liverpool.

However, Unai Emery has said that Lacazette has had his "best week" since the start of the season, having been battling with an ankle problem in recent weeks.

"With [Alexandre] Lacazette, he had a problem with his ankle," the Gunners' head coach said at his pre-match press conference.

"This week is the best week of the last three weeks. He’s getting better and feeling better with his ankle, it’s very positive."

However, the former Lyon striker has not been included in the latest French squad for their upcoming games against Albania and Andorra, which has got Arsenal fans talking over his international exile, having not featured for Les Bleus since November 2017.

Unai Emery: Arsenal showed 'character' against Liverpool

Unai Emery on his attacking options

It has not happened yet, but Arsenal fans are looking forward to the prospect of seeing record signing Nicolas Pepe line up alongside Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette.

And Emery has hinted that he could unleash the trio for the first time against Spurs.

"Yes, but be calm. My decision in each moment is thinking about how we are," he said.

"With [Nicolas] Pepe, he came here later than the others but he is getting and feeling better in each match.

"[Pierre-Emerick] Aubameyang is very important for us, he scores two goals in the first two matches, he had two or three good actions in Liverpool.

"The most important thing for me is to have chances and after with players like Aubameyang, Lacazette, Pepe, Micki, [Henrikh Mkhitaryan] Reiss [Nelson], [Dani] Ceballos and Mesut [Ozil] we can score with different players."

Triple injury boost for Gunners

Arsenal have been handed a triple injury boost ahead of the north London derby.

Unai Emery has been without several key defenders in the early stages of the season, but the Gunners have been given some positive news ahead of the game with rivals Tottenham.

Hector Bellerin is continuing to recover from a cruciate ligament injury and is said to be progressing well. He won't be ready for Sunday's game, but it is hoped that he will back in full training next month.

Defender Konstantinos Mavropanos is also working to a similar timescale as he looks to step up his recovery from a groin injury, while summer signing Kieran Tierney is also expected to return to full training over the coming weeks.

The former Celtic defender has not yet featured for the Gunners, having arrived at the club with a groin injury.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.