Arsenal pair Alexandre Lacazette and Kieran Tierney have been pictured back in training ahead of tomorrow’s crucial Europa League semi-final second leg against Villarreal.
At his press conference today, manager Mikel Arteta would not be drawn on whether either player would be available, but fans on Twitter are hopeful that the two stars could be involved:
Tears in my eyes ??
— DayVeed (@_davidolupitan) May 5, 2021
Some good news. Hopefully they are at 100 when they get called upon.
— Hamza (@alpha_dweeb) May 4, 2021
I’ll keep my hopes down. But if I see Tierney on Thursday? My confidence will be sky high!
— KING? (@_IKENNA_) May 4, 2021
Tierney will be on bench 100%
— Tierney Tackle (@ScottishBloodKT) May 4, 2021
— Met. (@AFCMet) May 4, 2021
Love to see it
— Etsu Yahya? (@Abdullahi_wolf) May 4, 2021
They are, they’re fully training with the whole squad.
— Dean (@DeanJamesAFC) May 4, 2021
Season’s saved
— Good Ebening ✡️ (@aran_khalas) May 4, 2021
Out of the two, Lacazette would be the likeliest to play, having only been out for a couple of weeks with a hamstring injury. Even so, a place on the bench is probably more realistic than a starting berth.
In Tierney’s case, you would think it is unlikely that he’ll be ready to make his comeback, having last played against Liverpool just over a month ago, but Arteta may feel he needs to take a chance on the Scottish international.
Granit Xhaka has been filling in admirably at left-back but the Swiss international was left horribly exposed in the first leg versus Villarreal and having Tierney back would be a massive boost.