Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has revealed the latest team news ahead of his side's Premier League clash against Fulham.
A key factor behind the Gunners' perfect start to the season has been the luxury of naming an unchanged team for wins over Crystal Palace, Leicester City and Bournemouth whilst not taking any risks with Kieran Tierney, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Emile Smith Rowe and Fabio Vieira given their fitness issues in the summer.
In fact, heading into last week's trip to the Vitality Stadium, the only Arsenal first-team player sidelined through injury was Reiss Nelson after he sustained a muscular problem in a training session that caused him to drop out of the matchday squad for the home game against the Foxes.
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At the time, Arteta refused to put a timeframe on the winger's return to action amid reports of a two-month spell on the sidelines and it would appear that the injury wasn't too serious, as Nelson took to Instagram ahead of the Fulham game and posted a picture of him at London Colney, seemingly hinting that he was back out on the pitch.
What that means for his availability remains to be seen but judging by comments from the Arsenal manager it is looking like he won't be in contention to face the Cottagers: "Everybody has trained this week and everybody is fine apart from Reiss who you know has been injured for a few weeks now," Arteta told reporters in his pre-match press conference on Friday morning.
Even if Nelson is ruled out, the Gunners squad is still in a healthy place going into the Fulham game, with Fabio Vieira potentially in line to make his competitive debut for the club following his £34m transfer from Porto, whilst Emile Smith Rowe will be pushing for a start after two substitute appearances.
One player who certainly won't be in contention to face the Cottagers is Nicolas Pepe after his loan move to OGC Nice was confirmed on Thursday evening and Arteta has explained the decision to allow the club's £72m record signing to depart. "It’s been three years and he some good moments, some others where he hasn’t really contributed much in terms of minutes," the Spaniard added.
"We decided for every party it was the best decision to allow him to go. He needs to play football."
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