Arsenal manager Unai Emery has confirmed that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will start the Europa League game against Napoli on Thursday night.
The striker has come off the bench for the last two Premier Leagues games but Emery said he was now 100% fit and would start at the Emirates.
Talking in his pre-match press conference (Sky Sports News, Friday, 3pm), Emery said, “He had a small problem and he was taking antibiotics for his sickness, and that’s why he hasn’t started for two matches. For tomorrow he’s feeling much better and will start.”
Emery went on to say that Laurent Koscielny and Granit Xhaka will be assessed tomorrow. Koscielny has been out with a foot problem but resumed first-team training today.
OPINION
Arsenal got one of the hardest draws possible in the Europa League, with Napoli currently second in Serie A behind Juventus. Having Aubameyang back will help the Gunners build up a lead for the second leg in Italy and we imagine Emery will unleash Alexandre Lacazette alongside him. Aubameyang has 17 goals in 31 Premier League games and four in seven Europa League outings, compared to 13/31 and 1/5 for Lacazette. Arsenal’s away record this season has been absolutely dismal. They’re the only side in the Premier League who haven’t kept a clean sheet away from home and went down 1-0 to Everton in their last game, denting their top-four hopes. Given that, you’ve got to think that Arsenal will need a clean sheet and a couple of goals at the Emirates on Thursday, but they’re more than capable of doing that at home. Keeping Dries Mertens quiet will be the big job for the Arsenal defenders – he’s scored three in his last four games.