Goal report that Arsenal summer signing Oleksandr Zinchenko will miss out again this weekend, due to the calf injury that has kept him sidelined since the start of the month.
Emile Smith Rowe and Mohamed Elneny also remain sidelined with their long-term issues, but the news on Bukayo Saka seems to be more positive.
Mikel Arteta claimed on Thursday that Saka would hopefully be fine after his knock in the PSV game, and Goal report that Arsenal are hopeful he’ll be alright to feature in the Southampton game.
As for Gabriel Martinelli, he missed training with Arsenal this week due to illness, but he came off the bench in the PSV game and reportedly could now come back into the starting lineup against Southampton.
Zinchenko’s continued unavailability is a blow, considering Arsenal have had to rely on Takehiro Tomiyasu to provide cover in both full-back positions in recent weeks. Ideally, Arteta would be able to rest Tomiyasu more often, particularly with his recent injury history.
More than that, Zinchenko has also brought a lot of quality to Arsenal supporting the midfield and attack when he has played, so it will be good to eventually have him back.
Other than Zinchenko and the two long-term absentees, it looks like Arsenal will have a full-strength squad to take to Southampton. But after a tricky midweek game against PSV, it remains to be seen how the Gunners deal with any fatigue.