Nelson recall as Arteta leaves four MOST IMPORTANT players out of Arsenal squad vs Bournemouth TODAY
It’s up in the air as to whether Eddie Nketiah will be included in the Arsenal matchday squad for this afternoon’s (Saturday) Premier League clash against Bournemouth.
The 23-year-old, who has filled in admirably in the absence of Gabriel Jesus since the World Cup by scoring six goals in 13 appearances across all competitions, is a doubt for the big game at the Emirates Stadium because of an ankle injury which isn’t thought to be too serious despite Mikel Arteta’s concerns.
Nketiah replaced Leandro Trossard in the second half of Arsenal’s 4-0 win over Everton on Wednesday night and looked to have staked his claim to earn a recall to the starting line-up after providing the final pass for Gabriel Martinelli to net his second goal of the game.
However, the Hale End graduate initially collapsed to the floor when the full-time whistle blew, before getting up to walk straight down the tunnel and Arteta has since confirmed that the striker was to be assessed in training ahead of the Cherries’ visit to the capital.
“Yeah he was [limping against Everton]. We are assessing him,” the Spaniard said in the pre-match press conference. “It’s a bit uncertain what will happen with him to be honest in the training sessions. Let’s see, let’s keep the options open. He’s very positive about it and hopefully he’ll be fine.”
Perhaps a clear indication that Nketiah will not feature against the Cherries is the fact that he wasn’t pictured in Friday’s training session at London Colney which included the likes of Thomas Partey, Jorginho, Bukayo Saka, Rob Holding, Granit Xhaka, Jakub Kiwior and Oleksandr Zinchenko.
Although, it’s worth pointing out that this doesn’t necessarily rule the Gunners’ No. 14 out. For example, before the 3-0 win over Brentford earlier in the season, William Saliba wasn’t spotted in any of the pre-match training images but was named in the starting line-up and proceeded to cap off an outstanding performance with a goal.
Therefore, whilst there is a possibility that Nketiah is involved against Bournemouth today, if he’s not risked then he will be among the four senior Arsenal players – Gabriel Jesus, Mohamed Elneny and Karl Hein – to miss the Bournemouth clash as per Premier League rules regarding a 20-man matchday squad.
This particular scenario could see Reiss Nelson return to the squad after he made way for the returning Thomas Partey against Leicester City last weekend and missed out once again for the 4-0 win over Everton, with the likes of Emile Smith Rowe and Fabio Vieira preferred to him.
Nelson did train on Friday and as there hasn’t been any suggestion with regard to an injury, with the 23-year-old having recently returned to fitness following a lay-off with a hamstring complaint. He is the most likely option to replace Nketiah on the bench against Bournemouth given he is a forward.
