Arsenal are gearing up for a return to action, with the north London giants set to take to the field this Saturday. Norwich City will be their weekend opponents as Mikel Arteta's side look to get their Premier League campaign back on track after an atrocious start to the season.
With zero wins, zero points, and zero goals scored after three games; Aubameyang and Co. know they must return to winning ways as soon as possible if they wish to avoid throwing away their entire season after only four games. Fortunately, the Emirates Stadium side have received huge boosts ahead of their clash with the Canaries.
After being ravaged by COVID-19 cases and injuries, Arsenal have welcomed back several key players for the upcoming fixture. The most crucial are Ben White, Gabriel Magalhaes, and Thomas Partey, with the newly-signed English center-back catching the coronavirus after his debut game vs Bentford while the other two picked up injuries during the summer.
"Well I can respond to the question this evening, we haven't trained yet so we are still waiting for three players back but as far as I know, almost everyone will be available," the Spanish manager said (as per the club's official website) when asked about the team news during his recent press conference.
The return of those three men will be crucial as the two aforementioned defenders look to be Arteta's preferred center-back partnership for the season. Only one was available for the first game, the 2-0 loss to Brentford, while both were out for the following two fixtures.
The Gunners have conceded nine goals already and have been shaky at the back since the pre-season. Elsewhere, Partey, who will offer much-needed dynamism and athleticism in the middle of the park, can also offer better protection for the back four. Eddie Nketiah has also recovered from an ankle injury and is in contention for the weekend.
Mohamed Elneny is out for two to three weeks while Granit Xhaka is suspended for his straight red card in the 5-0 loss to Man City. Albert Sambi Lokonga, one of Arsenal's few bright notes from their first three games, felt discomfort while on international duty with Belgium and was thus rested by Roberto Martinez in their final game. Whether he will be fit for the Norwich clash or not will be seen.
