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Football London
Football London
Sport
Lewis Pangratiou

Arsenal handed boost as Watford suffer major injury blow ahead of Premier League clash

Arsenal are back in action on Sunday as they travel to Vicarage Road to take on Watford in the Premier League.

The Gunners will be desperate to clinch all three points given they are now just two points behind fourth-placed Manchester United, who they have three games in hand over.

Mikel Arteta's side didn't play last weekend and are well rested since their 2-1 win over Wolves in late February.

Positively, the break has provided enough time for Emile Smith Rowe to recover from illness and he's set to play some part against the Hornets following his return to training on Tuesday.

That being said, Takehiro Tomiyasu isn't fit enough to play after suffering a calf injury.

Speaking about the Japan international in his post-match press conference after the win against Wolves, Arteta said: “Yes, it was the other calf.

“So he came back and he was completely fine, and in training he felt the other calf.

“So this is an issue because he’s a professional, who is giving absolutely everything to help us, and in the last few months he’s not been fit.”

Although Tomiyasu's injury is a slight concern, Arsenal will be glad to know that one of Watford's biggest forward threats, Ismaila Sarr, is unavailable.

As cited by our colleagues at Herts Live, Hornets boss Roy Hodgson confirmed that both he and William Troost-Ekong are out for the "foreseeable future" with muscle strains. Unfortunately for both, Hodgson added: "It's not a minor thing."

Watford do have Kiko Femenia and Dan Gosling available to them again but having Sarr out is a huge blow moving forward.

Arsenal have found the net in all 15 of their Premier League matches vs Watford and they will be confident that they have enough to earn another three points.

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