Arsenal Handed Major Injury Boost

Arsenal boss Unai Emery's options for the trip to West Ham have been boosted by the return to action of six first-team players.

The Spaniard's options, particularly in defence, have been limited in recent weeks due to injuries so he was delighted to see so many of his regulars return to training this week. Hector Bellerin hasn't played since the loss at Southampton due to a calf issue but should feature at the London Stadium, while Nacho Monreal and Shkodran Mustafi have overcome hamstring injuries to be passed fit. Laurent Koscielny has also been cleared to play after being forced to pull out of the Arsenal team for the FA Cup third-round win at Blackpool during the warm-up due to back spasms. Dinos Mavropanos is also available to Emery for the first time since he took charge after the Greek defender finally overcame a groin issue. Mesut Ozil is also ready to go having been left out of the Gunners squad in recent weeks due to a knee injury, although it remains to be seen whether he can force his way back into Emery's plans. The former Paris Saint-Germain coach has refused to say how many of his fit-again squad would go straight back into the team to face West Ham, claiming he will keep faith with those who have stepped in and done well in their absence. "We want to find our best performance with the players," said Emery. "Some players can recover their positions in the squad and in the first XI, and some of them we need their performances now. Above all, we are going to have one mix of the players that have been playing and helping us with good performances and adapt against West Ham, imposing our idea on the pitch. That’s the mix [we need] for Saturday. It’s good news that we can have more players available." Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Rob Holding and Danny Welbeck are long-term absentees for Arsenal.