Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has confirmed that we don’t have any new injury concerns ahead of our clash with Arsenal this weekend.
Villa host the Gunners looking to follow up our win over West Ham Utd last weekend, and there was hope that Emery would have the benefit of consistency and familiarity by being able to name the same starting XI again.
READ MORE: How Villa could line up vs Arsenal: Possible doubt, three potential key decisions for Emery
Speaking at his pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon, the Villa boss confirmed that there are no new injury concerns within the squad, and so it remains to be seen if he opts to go with an unchanged line-up.
“[Boubacar] Kamara is progressing a lot, I think now is the sixth month since he was injured and he had surgery,” he told reporters. “And, more or less, in a few weeks he will start training with us. Tyrone Mings is close to start doing something with the team, now he’s working alone but he’s feeling very good.
“Other players, I think they are available.
“We don’t have more issues with injured players.”
There had been concern this week that Matty Cash may miss out, as after being replaced in the 82nd minute against West Ham – with the Polish international seen clutching his hamstring area – he didn’t appear in training footage in midweek from Bodymoor Heath.
That in turn suggested that he had picked up an issue and could be sidelined this weekend, but based on Emery’s update above, it sounds as though Villa’s first-choice right-back will be available for selection.
While there are perhaps still question marks that continue to hover over Cash, particularly against Arsenal with the threat and pace that they have in wide positions, it is likely to be a crucial boost for Emery as he prepares his game-plan to be able to deal with that dynamic of Arsenal’s play.
Had Cash been ruled out, there would have been a forced a reshuffle at the back which may have seen Ezri Konsa shifted across for Diego Carlos to come in, or perhaps a first start for Kosta Nedeljkovic.
Instead, we hopefully have a settled backline in place in front of Emiliano Martinez, and in turn, they will look to give us a solid foundation on which we can build in the game and go on to try and secure all three points.
