Watford vs Arsenal Premier League preview: How to watch, lineups, selections & prediction

Arsenal Team News vs Watford – Is Takehiro Tomiyasu Fit?

Making the decision to trim the squad down to 20 senior players in the summer had many purposes, with one of those being to create a tighter knit group who knew no matter what they would be involved on matchdays.

The strength and camaraderie of the squad is plain to see, and so far it’s a strategy that has paid off.

There are downsides to it, of course, one of which relates to the injury situation. Arsenal have been managing well with player fitness, apart from Takehiro Tomiyasu. The only notable absence since the window closed has been the right-back, who as soon as he returned from a calf problem suffered a similar injury to his other leg.

As it stands there is no indication that he will be fit, meaning a fourth consecutive start for Cedric is on the horizon. Other than the Japan international, the only question marks were over Emile Smith Rowe. However, he has recovered from sickness.

In terms of the hosts, Hodgson has a near clean bill of health as far as his squad is concerned, with only a couple of long-term injuries to contend with.

Midfielder Peter Etebo and forward Kwadwo Baah have both been out since September and November respectively.

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