Full Arsenal squad for Aston Villa revealed as Mikel Arteta faces double injury dilemma

Just as Mikel Arteta appears to be on the verge of having his entire squad available, an Arsenal injury blow emerges. Heading into the business end of the season, Jurrien Timber looked set to be the only absentee, with Thomas Partey, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Bukayo Saka among those recovering from issues in recent weeks.

However, over the last seven days, both Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Magalhaes have become injury concerns for Arteta. The latter has missed some training sessions this week following Tuesday's Bayern Munich clash, thus making him doubtful for the weekend.

Asked specifically for an injury update on Gabriel, Arteta said: «We’ve got one more day to prepare the match. We will see tomorrow if everyone is available. We have some but hopefully with another day we’ll be okay.» With such a hectic schedule, in order to manage issues, some Arsenal players have barely trained before then featuring at the weekend and it could therefore be the same for Gabriel.

As for Jesus, it could be a more significant issue given his honest injury admission made earlier this month. «Sometimes I feel it [my knee],» he said. «I don't remember the last time I played football without pain. I try to keep strong in mind.»

Considering he has still featured prominently in recent weeks, it is clearly an issue that he can play through despite the pain. When asked about Jesus' issue, Arteta said: «In elite sport to play without pain, I think it is very difficult. When you play every three days especially, at the level that we play, if you ask any player they will say that: ‘Yeah, sometimes there is pain and you have to deal with that’.

White out, Partey and Smith Rowe return, Jesus decision made — Arsenal line ups vs Aston Villa