Mikel Arteta has provided a fitness update on Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang ahead of Arsenal's trip to Newcastle in the Premier League on Sunday.
The 31-year-old has missed three weeks of football after revealing that he contracted malaria on international duty with Gabon.
He made his return for the Gunners in their Europa League semi final first leg against Villarreal on Thursday as a substitute but was not deemed fit enough to start the match.
And with the crucial second leg against Unai Emery 's side coming up just next Thursday, Arteta has provided the last on his captain's chances of playing the visit to St. James' Park.
"He hasn’t trained much, he is still not at the level in his physique that he should be to start," said the Spaniard to press on Friday. "We will see again tomorrow how he is.
"Yesterday he could only play a few minutes but we managed to get him on the pitch, which is great news for us."
The news means that Arsenal have something of a problem at centre forward going into the clash with Newcastle.
Despite returning to training this week Alexandre Lacazette is still recovering from a hamstring strain and with Aubameyang unlikely to be available from the off at St. James' Park Arteta may be forced to go with a 'false nine' to lead the line once again.
Emile Smith Rowe was deployed in the role against Villarreal on Thursday night but struggled in an unfamiliar position.
The Gunners did look much better once Gabriel Martinelli came on as a more orthodox centre forward option and there is a chance that he could start up front against Steve Bruce's side.
The game against Newcastle represents something of a fitness gamble for Arteta who will want to give the likes of Aubameyang, Lacazette and potentially David Luiz and Kieran Tierney some minutes ahead of a crucial Europa League semi final second leg against Villarreal next Thursday.
Speaking ahead of the game on Sunday, the Spaniard admitted that he would have to manage his squad carefully in order to have them at their best against Unai Emery's side at the Emirates.
"Let’s see who is available," he said of his team selection for the game.
"We had a really demanding game again, the boys have had so many minutes so we will assess them tomorrow in the training session and see how everyone is, and try to get the line-up right."
