Arsenal have almost a dozen injury doubts heading into their first Premier League match following the October international break against Bournemouth.
The Gunners are back in action away on the south coast for a Saturday evening kick-off. However, they face being without several players despite having precious extra hours to prepare compared to some of their rivals.
Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United kick off the weekend with a London derby, while Aston Villa, Manchester United and Newcastle United are all in action that same afternoon. But after a second arduous international break of the season, Arsenal are at risk of travelling down to Dorset with a depleted squad because of the injury issues they are currently dealing with.
This weekend’s opposition also hardly helps their cause, as Neto is ineligible, with the Cherries being his parent club. That means Jack Porter could be back in the matchday squad again after debuting against Bolton Wanderers in the club’s third-round Carabao Cup tie if Tommy Setford is still injured.
Martin Odegaard will also be missing again because of his ankle injury. He did not join the Norway national team this month, and Kieran Tierney, who has yet to play this season despite returning to individual training last month, was also not called up by Scotland and is unlikely to feature so soon.
Takehiro Tomiyasu is also doubtful after a reported recurrence of his knee injury, which he only returned as a late substitute against Southampton. Ben White was not involved against the Saints because of a knee issue, nor was Jurrien Timber after being substituted at half-time against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.
Oleksandr Zinchenko has been out with a calf injury since August, and it is still unclear if he will be back for the weekend. Gabriel Martinelli ‘s right calf is also a concern after he hurt it while training with Brazil last week.
