Mikel Arteta is hoping to be able to call up Alexandre Lacazette and Kieran Tierney to the squad to face Villarreal on Thursday, and he isn’t ruling out David Luiz either.

The Daily Mail report that Mikel Arteta will make late calls on Alexandre Lacazette and Kieran Tierney, but the club are optimistic Lacazette will be able to make the bench, and they aren’t ruling Tierney out either.

Both players were pictured in training after the Mail’s article, suggesting there’s still hope. Arteta told the media on Wednesday “we will see today” if they’ll be alright to feature.

The Mail also reported that David Luiz was initially expected to miss a fortnight, but there might be good news on that front as well.

“With David, it is always possible,” Arteta said. “He was already saying before the game that he wanted to be available. He has made an incredible effort to be in the position that he is today.

“The fact that he played against Newcastle was already a big bonus, because he had surgery on his knee. With David, you never know.”

I would not recommend getting your hopes up about any of the three starting the game. The most likely scenario seems to be that Lacazette and Tierney make the squad but feature on the bench. Despite Arteta’s comments, Luiz will probably miss out.

Even if they’re only available to make a late impact, though, it would still be a boost.

We saw the impact Tierney can have late in a vital Europa League knockout match when he scored to keep Arsenal alive against Benfica. Similarly, Lacazette proved his worth in the second leg against Slavia Prague. We might need them again on Thursday.