Villarreal vs Arsenal preview: How to watch, predicted lineups, score prediction & injury updates

Arsenal Team News vs Villarreal

What a week of sport it has been for all those connected to Arsenal Football Club, even without kicking a ball.

Has all the off-field drama and turmoil helped settle some nerves with the focus shifted elsewhere, or have the ongoings contributed to exceedingly unwelcome preparations for the players? What is taking place shouldn’t impact team performance. What will, however, is two wretched performances in the build-up.

The last two results have been woeful, and made worse by the lack of key firepower as Alexandre Lacazette remains an uncertainty heading into Thursday. While there was hope of a swift comeback from his hamstring issue, it looks unlikely that he’ll be ready in time.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been training and building some fitness after nearly three weeks out with malaria, an illness that will certainly have an understandable impact in his performances on the pitch, but due to other absences may force him to start in Spain. Arsenal need him.

Kieran Tierney remains unavailable, likely for the rest of the season, but there is good news regarding David Luiz who is back in training and in contention to start.

He wasn’t able to make the impact he would have liked against Everton but Martin Odegaard’s return from an ankle problem is welcome relief for an Arsenal side that have looked blunt in attack over the past two outings. In goal there are no injuries, but has Bernd Leno’s latest clanger risked his place in the side?

Emery’s side head into this crunch encounter without midfielder Vicente Iborra, although left-back Pervis Estupiñán returned from a muscle strain last time out and is in line to earn a start.