Aaron Ramsey and Nacho Monreal will both be available for Arsenal’s match against Newcastle on Monday but Unai Emey is still sweating on the fitness of Granit Xhaka.
Juventus-bound Ramsey had been largely frozen out by Emery earlier in the season but is re-establishing himself as a crucial component of Arsenal’s midfield as he enters the twilight of his Gunners career.
The 27-year-old missed both of Wales’ matches with a thigh strain during the recent international break but returned to first team training on Thursday ahead of the Premier League resumption.
Monreal, meanwhile, had been nursing a calf injury and did not fly out with the squad which embarked on a five-day warm weather training camp which culminated in Tuesday’s 3-2 friendly win over Al Nasr in Dubai.
The Spaniard featured on the left-hand side of a back three in the recent wins over Rennes and Manchester United and, like Ramsey, returned to first team training yesterday.
Xhaka’s availability for the visit of Rafael Benitez’s side is less certain, however. The Switzerland midfielder was substituted with 10 minutes remaining of his nation’s Euro 2020 qualifier against Denmark with an abductor injury on Tuesday.
‘Xhaka could not stay on the pitch,’ Swiss manager Valdimir Petkovic said afterwards. ‘He asked me ten minutes before to be replaced. ‘Granit had abductor problems, he could not do any more.’
Arsenal failed to include news of the 26-year-old’s recovery in their injury bulletin on Friday morning ahead of Emery’s pre-match press conference.
