Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice and Leandro Trossard are all doubts for Arsenal’s Premier League game against Nottingham Forest on Saturday after international break injuries
The wait is nearly over: Arsenal are back in Premier League action this weekend against Nottingham Forest.
The Gunners are in desperate need of a win, having gone four matches in the league without one. Their dramatic dip in form has seen them slip nine points behind leaders Liverpool ahead of a crucial and extremely busy festive period.
The good news is that Mikel Arteta doesn’t have to worry about his players picking up injuries on international duty until March. The bad news is that his side is already falling well off the pace being set at the top of the league, just 11 games in a 38-match campaign.
After losses to Bournemouth and Newcastle and draws against Liverpool and Chelsea, the hope is that they can bounce back against in-form Forest on Saturday. In the meantime, here are the latest Arsenal headlines from Mirror Football.
Injury worries
Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice were absent from international duty with England and it remains unclear whether they will be fit to face Forest this weekend. Arteta said after the 1-1 draw at Chelsea that it “doesn’t look good” and there has been little information since then.
We have learnt over the past few days that Arteta is happy to employ subterfuge to hide the true extent of injuries, so he may well keep his cards close to his chest in Friday’s pre-match press conference.
There is better news on Leandro Trossard, who is thought to have suffered ‘severe bruising’ while playing for Belgium against Israel on Sunday night. It is hoped he can play on Saturday, having been withdrawn in the first half in a match played in Budapest.
Sterling slammed
Raheem Sterling is yet to make much of an impact since joining Arsenal on a season-long loan deal from Chelsea. He has made eight appearances and his only goal contributions came in the 5-1 win against League One side Bolton in the Carabao Cup.
Stan Collymore has not been impressed. “ Raheem Sterling has been a massive disappointment,” he told the Metro. “He came in and said he was going to give the club his best work, but that hasn’t happened. He’s arguably stunk the place out so far and he’s definitely one of the flops of the season having promised to do his best work at Arsenal.
“He’s an experienced player who has won everything there is to win, he was expected to push the dressing room up another level and he hasn’t done that.”
Wrexham take Toure on trial
The son of former Arsenal defender Kolo Toure is trying to kick-start his professional career at Wrexham. Yassine Toure had spells on trial at Celtic and Leicester when Kolo worked there as a coach under his ex-Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers, but is now going it alone.
The 18-year-old has been on trial with Wrexham as he seeks to earn his first professional deal. His father is currently working as a coach at Manchester City, for whom he made 102 appearances across four seasons between 2009 and 2013.
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