Alexandre Lacazette is set to make the bench for Arsenal on Thursday night, the Daily Mail report.
Arsenal take on Villarreal in arguably their biggest game of the season so far, and they will be boosted by the return of Lacazette.
The French striker, who Arteta has previously labelled as ‘brilliant’ (Sports Mole) has missed Arsenal’s last few games with injury, but he returned to training yesterday.
And the Gunners are said to be ‘optimistic’ that he will be fit enough to make the bench in midweek.
Lacazette seemingly won’t be able to start, but there is hope that he could feature late on, if needed.
There are more doubts about Kieran Tierney’s availability.
But the Mail also suggests that he may be able to make the squad, although the likelihood of him being risked on the pitch is slim.
Arsenal go into the second-leg against Villarreal looking to make up for a 2-1 deficit.
Arteta’s side were poor in Spain, but crucially did score an away goal to keep their hopes alive.
And the news that Lacazette could be able to come off the bench if they need a goal late on certainly should raise optimism levels.
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