Arsenal confident of major fitness boost vs Crystal Palace

Arsenal will bid farewell to the final international break of the season and their last two-week break between Premier League matches when they travel to Crystal Palace on Monday.

The 16-day gap in fixtures may be viewed as a benefit to Mikel Arteta, however, having seen the vast majority of his first team squad jet off across the globe to represent their respective nations.

What is helpful to the Gunners’ hopes of three precious points at Selhurst Park is the expected absences of Michael Olise and Wilfried Zaha through injury, although there are fitness concerns of their own to worry about over the weekend.

One player who does look set to be available for selection, and doubtlessly in the starting lineup, is Bukayo Saka. The 20-year-old was called up by Gareth Southgate for England’s friendly matches against Switzerland and Ivory Coast, only to withdraw from the camp before the first game after testing positive for Covid.

Arsenal confident of major fitness boost vs Crystal Palace with Bukayo Saka set to be fit, although Ramsdale & Tomiyasu remain injury doubts

As per the Evening Standard, Arsenal are hopeful over Saka’s involvement, with him expected to have recovered from the virus and be able to train in the days building up to the game.

There is less confidence over Aaron Ramsdale. A surprise exclusion from the squad that beat Aston Villa last time out, Arteta revealed a hip injury suffered in the defeat to Liverpool would leave him out of action for ‘a few weeks’. He is a doubt for this game, with other sources listing him as ’50/50′ to be available.

Bernd Leno performed well during in his stead at Villa Park, keeping a clean sheet in his first Premier League outing since August, although his kicking did leave plenty to be desired.

Nevertheless, there shouldn’t be any great concern should the German be called into the team once again.

As for Takehiro Tomiyasu, the calf problems that have kept him out of action since January are still being treated, with Arsenal not wanting to rush him back into the fold with Cedric performing well at right-back – it’s his longest consecutive run in the team. However, Arteta was positive about his progress, stating that “I think he will be close. He’s been training more and more. The boys are now back and he’ll be joining in some sessions this week.”

Alexandre Lacazette scored a hat-trick and Rob Holding also got on the scoresheet on Wednesday as the Gunners beat Brentford B 4-1 behind closed doors, a match in which neither Tomiyasu nor Ramsdale featured.