Aston Villa vs Arsenal injury news latest - as five ruled out and three doubts

Aston Villa play host to Premier League title challengers Arsenal on Saturday afternoon, at potentially the best stage of the season possible. The Gunners dropped points for a third game in a row on Wednesday night as they were defeated 3-1 in a huge six-pointer clash with Manchester City.

Unai Emery and his team will be eager to add insult to injury as they look to bounce back from the exact same result against the same opposition. The Villans are at an advantage as they have had a week to prepare, whereas Arsenal will have thrust plenty of their energy into the midweek crunch game.

In regards to team news, Villa have a big defensive decision to make as Tyrone Mings missed the visit to Manchester City with a “small injury”, according to Emery, but the hope is he will be back for Saturday. The defender was tipped by his manager to return to full training but it will likely be a wait-and-see scenario.

Meanwhile, versatile forward Bertrand Traore has been in training with the senior squad following the completion of his rehabilitation programme, following a recall from his loan spell at Turkish side Basaksehir. Whether or not he is match-fit is unclear, so we have the Burkinabè down as a doubt.

Summer signing Diego Carlos is making progress towards coming back from his long-term Achilles tendon injury but is estimated to miss out until early March. Third-choice goalkeeper Jed Steer is still recovering from a similar Achilles issue and could be back soon.

The visitors were dealt a huge blow before their vital clash with City as key defensive midfielder Thomas Partey missed out with an issue with a muscle in his back. “It’s what happens in football,” Arteta said. “Players pick up injuries and unfortunately Partey felt something. We have to assess to see how bad it is.”

Arsenal’s two long-term absentees - Emile Smith-Rowe (groin) and Gabriel Jesus (medial ligament damage) - are getting closer but remain sidelined for the game at Villa Park. Egyptian midfielder Mohamed Elneny picked up a “significant injury to his right knee” in training last week and will be out for an extended period.

Doubts: Mings, B. Traore (AVL); Partey (ARS).

Ruled out: D. Carlos, Steer (AVL); Smith-Rowe, Jesus, Elneny (ARS).