“We have to assess them today” - Arteta provides fitness update on Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka and 2 more Arsenal stars ahead of Bournemouth clash

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has confirmed Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard have all not taken part in training due to respective injuries ahead of the Gunners' Premier League clash with Bournemouth.

He added that Fabio Vieira and William Saliba are also carrying knocks and will be assessed closer to the game.

Speaking in a press conference ahead of the match on Saturday, September 30, Arteta cast doubt over six first-team players' availability for the Bournemouth game. He said:

"Declan hasn’t trained yet, we have a session in an hour, we’ll get more news about him. Gabi [Martinelli] hasn’t trained, Leo same situation, Saka, same. They are all in the same pool, Willy had a knock, Fabio wasn’t involved. We have to assess them today."

Earlier this week, Arteta said things were not looking good for Saka as he was unable to train. He said:

"He was limping quite badly after the match. We had to get him off the field which is never a good sign. He hasn't been able to participate in the session."

The Gunners are fifth in the Premier League and remain unbeaten so far. They have won four and drawn two of their matches while scoring 11 times.

Arsenal have one positive ahead of Bournemouth clash

While Arsenal are fighting against time to get six first-team players fit for the Bournemouth clash, Emile Smith Rowe has hit the ground running. The youngster has been in good form and was a key figure in their 1-0 win over Brentford in the Carabao Cup.

Arteta spoke highly of the youngster and said:

"I think he had really good moments in the first half, and the game was much easier for him, the way he was developing with his qualities, and the game we started to play after five or ten minutes in the second half, and then after he was struggling more. Physically, he’s still not there to play 90 minutes, we have to bear in mind that we have four or five players in that field and that was big concern for us today in the line-up, because we have seven at Colney that are not fit now."

Smith Rowe could start in the midfield this week should Vieira, Rice and Partey be unavailable for the Gunners.