Aston Villa face several selection issues before Arsenal visit Villa Park on Monday night, with João Gomes suspended and Unai Emery still waiting to discover exactly which of his new arrivals will be available.
Villa are looking for an immediate response after their 4-0 defeat at Brighton, but Emery will have to make at least one enforced midfield change.
Gomes is suspended after being sent off on his Premier League debut. The Premier League suspension list confirms the Brazilian is unavailable for Villa’s next three league fixtures against Arsenal, Hull City and Nottingham Forest.
That absence increases the importance of new signing Leon Goretzka.
Leon Goretzka could enter Aston Villa squad
Villa officially completed the signing of Goretzka on Thursday, with the club also confirming his Aston Villa squad number.
The 31-year-old now needs to be fully registered and cleared to play before he can feature against Arsenal.
Villa had already been working towards having the midfielder available for Monday’s match after his medical was completed earlier this week, with ReadAstonVilla previously explaining the registration deadline facing Goretzka before the Arsenal game.
Amadou Onana remains sidelined with his long-term knee injury, while Johan Manzambi also looks unlikely to return in time.
Emery said after the Brighton defeat that Manzambi had started working on the pitch but could require approximately another two weeks before rejoining the squad.
There was better news regarding Brian Madjo and Tammy Abraham. Emery indicated both could return to training sooner, although Abraham’s future remains uncertain after Villa agreed a potential loan move with Ipswich.
The full situation was covered in ReadAstonVilla’s latest injury update before the Arsenal clash.
Arsenal could hand Ezri Konsa immediate Villa Park return
Arsenal also have significant selection decisions ahead of Monday night.
Mikel Arteta confirmed on Thursday that Ezri Konsa is available and could make his Arsenal debut against his former club.
Reuters reported Arteta’s latest Arsenal team news, with Bruno Guimarães also back in training following a groin problem and potentially available at Villa Park.
William Saliba and Jurriën Timber have both been dealing with injury problems, with the Evening Standard’s latest Arsenal injury update outlining Arteta’s defensive situation ahead of the game.
That could leave Konsa competing for an immediate place in Arsenal’s defence only days after completing his £55million move from Villa.
ReadAstonVilla covered the possibility of Konsa making an immediate return to Villa Park following Arteta’s update on Thursday.
There could still be further changes to Emery’s options before Monday.
Villa have agreed a deal worth up to £65m for Nicolas Jackson, while several other transfers remain unresolved. Any new signing would still need to complete the necessary registration process before becoming eligible.
Aston Villa host Arsenal at 8pm BST on Monday 31 August, with the Premier League fixture schedule confirming the details of the Villa Park meeting.
