Aston Villa are only likely to be without two players for Arsenal’s visit on Saturday, though there is some lingering doubt around former Gunner Emi Martinez.
Arsenal’s upcoming opponents Aston Villa faced Brighton in midweek, and they were initially expecting just two absentees from that fixture.
Tyrone Mings was unavailable with a thigh injury, with Unai Emery confirming it would be “I think four weeks more to be available”. So there’s no expectation Mings will be available for Arsenal on Saturday either.
The same goes for Ross Barkley, who was sidelined for a few months with a knee injury.
“Ruled out as well is Ross Barkley, his injury is more than we expected,” Emery admitted. “I don’t know exactly, but maybe 8-10-12 weeks. Hopefully a little bit less.
“It’s a pity because we were now getting the performances with him and he was helping us a lot, he was progressively so close to be in the starting XI.”
Yet the injury news got a bit worse for Villa just before the Brighton game, with Emi Martinez withdrawing from the contest at the last minute.
Martinez had been named in the starting lineup, but he was unable to complete his pre-match warm-up.
“He was feeling pain in his back,” Emery confirmed afterwards. “He couldn’t even do a warm-up normally.”
It’s unclear whether or not Martinez will be able to make an immediate return against Arsenal on Saturday, but it seems he’s the only doubt at this stage. Barkley and Mings will be absent, but the rest of Emery’s squad should be available.