Arsenal attacking midfielder Fabio Vieira is closing in on a return from a foot injury but it seems unlikely that he’ll be ready to start against Crystal Palace on Friday.

The Portuguese international has not played a single minute during pre-season and the best that fans can hope for is that he makes the bench at Selhurst Park.

Emile Smith Rowe has sustained a minor muscular problem that prevented him from featuring in the Gunners’ last four friendlies but he has returned to training so he is not far from making his comeback.

Takehiro Tomiyasu has also taken part in some sessions following a hamstring issue, but he is lacking in match practice so he is not expected to feature versus the Eagles.

Kieran Tierney {knee) played in the first friendly against Nuremberg but hasn’t been seen in action since then. He has been pictured back on the training pitch but he didn’t play against Sevilla, suggesting he may need more time to recover his fitness.