Arsenal could welcome three first-team players back into the squad this weekend as they host Leicester City at the Emirates Stadium.
In what will be his first home game of the campaign, Mikel Arteta confirmed to the media on Friday that three of his crucial players have been integrated back into training.
Takehiro Tomiyasu, Emile Smith-Rowe and Fabio Vieira all featured in Wednesday’s session at London Colney and are expected to be selected in the match-day squad.
All three players missed the opening day of the season as Arsenal picked up a hard-fought 2-0 win against Crystal Palace, but the squad depth challenges were clear to see.
Arteta named Reiss Nelson and Nicolas Pepe as two of his only three attacking options on the bench, with both players rumoured to be heading for the exit door this summer.
The return of Vieira will give Arsenal fans a huge boost as they wait to see the Portuguese feature for the first time following a £35m move from Porto.
Meanwhile the return of Tomiyasu could put pressure on the role of Ben White, who filled in at right-back due to the need for William Saliba to start at centre back.
That means Cedric Soares could be a casualty on the subs bench as Arteta aims to fill one one more spot of his nine options on the bench as he targets a second successive win.
Kieran Tierney is another player who we now know is in peak condition after confirming earlier this week he’s more than ready to go after a long stint on the sidelines.
The Scotsman has been linked with a shock move to Manchester City this week but Arteta refused to comment on anything regarding that transfer.
Arteta will certainly have a few head scratching moments this season with so many top quality options to get game time, but that’s never a bad problem to have!
Arsenal are likely to make at least one, if not two more signings by the time the window shuts on September 1st and it’s even more likely that more departures are to come.