Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta will welcome Takehiro Tomiyasu back into his squad for this weekend’s Premier League clash against West Ham United.
The defender has been unavailable for the last month after representing Japan at the Asia Cup.
However, the Blue Samurai suffered a surprise quarter-final exit against IIran last Saturday and the defender has already travelled back to London.
Tomiyasu’s return couldn’t be more timely given Oleksandr Zinchenko suffered a recurrence of a calf problem against Liverpool last Sunday.
The Ukraine skipper had to be taken off at half-time, which poses a problem for Arteta at left-back.
Zinchenko was targeted by Liverpool during the opening 45 minutes at the Emirates, and the space he left in behind resulted in the Reds’ equaliser.
With Mohammed Kudus to contend with at the London Stadium, Tomiyasu could go straight back into the starting XI to deal with the in-form ex-Ajax winger.
Arsenal are also sweating on the fitness of Gabriel Jesus who missed the win over the Reds with a knee injury he picked up in training.
The Brazil international played through the pain barrier to play a decisive role in the recent win over Nottingham Forest but was forced to miss a win over Jurgen Klopp’s side that has dragged Arsenal back into the title race.
Kai Havertz deputised for Jesus and could do so again at the London Stadium where Arsenal have already tasted defeat this season in the Carabao Cup.
Thomas Partey, meanwhile, remains absent after he suffered a setback in training last week.
The Ghana international hasn’t made a single Premier League appearance since October’s game against Manchester City but Arsenal hope he will be in contention to make his comeback imminently.