Arsenal captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang twisted his ankle in the 4-2 win over Leeds United last night, despite completing the full 90 minutes.

The 31-year-old scored a hat-trick to seal the victory and, if he is sidelined, it would come at the worst possible time considering he has managed to find his shooting boots once again.

The Gunners face Benfica in the Europa League tie on Thursday evening and Aubameyang is now in a race against time to be fit for the game.

Manager Mikel Arteta has confirmed that Thomas Partey’s latest thigh injury is slightly worse than they first thought. The Ghanaian underwent a scan to determine the extent of the issue and it is very unlikely that he’ll be able to return for the Benfica clash.

The 27-year-old sustained the issue in the 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa earlier this month. It is the third time in four months that the midfielder has picked up a similar problem so Arsenal will be keen to ensure that he can stay fit for a longer period of time when he returns.

Kieran Tierney’s knee injury also remains a concern. The 23-year-old has now been missing for almost a month, with his last game coming in the 3-0 win over Newcastle.

Scans have not been able to determine the exact cause of the injury but the left-back has been slowly building up his fitness. Arteta says he is confident that the defender will begin to take some part in team training before the Benfica fixture, although the nature of the problem means he is unsure whether he’ll be able to take part in a full session.

With Tierney having been out for a while, it seems like a place on the bench on Thursday for the Scottish international is the best that Gunners supporters can hope for.