Arsenal will make a late decision on the fitness of Bruno Guimaraes for their Premier League trip to Aston Villa on Monday night. Confidence is high for the Gunners after they followed up their dominant Community Shield win over Manchester City with a comprehensive victory against newly-promoted Coventry to start the new league season.
Guimaraes fitness assessed
The £75million summer signing missed that match against Frank Lampard's Championship winners due to a groin issue, having come off a week earlier in Cardiff with an ice pack strapped to his thigh. The midfielder has not been seen training with the main group in recent days, but Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has not ruled him out of the clash at Villa Park.
"We just managed the last few days with him [Guimaraes]," Arteta said at his pre-match press conference on Thursday. "He's out on the pitch, he's been in training sessions. But we need to manage the load to get to Monday in the best possible condition to be available to be selected. He's potentially available."
Konsa in contention
If Guimaraes is ruled out, Arteta could be tempted to stick with an unchanged starting lineup against a Villa side who were thrashed 4-0 at Brighton on the opening weekend. Myles Lewis-Skelly continues to impress in midfield, while Kai Havertz has looked sharp leading the line and combining with the likes of Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka.
Ezri Konsa is expected to make the squad and is in contention for a debut against his former club, but Arteta could opt to give the defender minutes off the bench rather than starting him. Gabriel Martinelli is set to complete his move to Al-Hilal over the weekend, while Gabriel Jesus and Fabio Vieira are unlikely to be in the squad as Arsenal continue to try to find buyers for the duo before Tuesday's transfer deadline.
Team news and absentees
Reiss Nelson has now agreed a mutual termination of his contract at the Emirates Stadium and will become a free agent. Although he has stepped up his training this week, Jurrien Timber remains unavailable after undergoing minor groin surgery over the summer. William Saliba is also still sidelined with his back issue.
Predicted Arsenal XI: Raya; White, Mosquera, Gabriel, Calafiori; Lewis-Skelly, Rice; Saka, Odegaard, Tzolis; Havertz. Injured: Timber, Saliba. Doubt: Guimaraes. The match kicks off at 8pm BST on Monday August 31, 2026 at Villa Park and will be shown on Sky Sports.
