Arsenal vs PSV Eindhoven injury news as eight ruled out and two doubts

Arsenal are back in action on Thursday night when they face PSV Eindhoven.

The Gunners were dealt a minor setback over the weekend when they were held to a draw by Southampton, allowing Manchester City to close in. But attention has since turned to the Europa League. Arsenal face PSV again on Thursday night, having narrowly beat the Dutch team in their last European outing, and already five points clear, the Gunners can wrap up top spot with just a draw.

If Mikel Arteta’s men do secure top spot, they will avoid having to play an extra round, which sees second place in each group take on the teams dropping out of the Champions League. Top spot will see Arsenal come in at the following stage, playing one of the winners of the play-off round.

Ahead of the clash with PSV, Bukayo Saka is a doubt but should return on time, while Oleksandr Zinchenko is likely to miss out as he battles towards fitness.

Granit Xhaka is in contention after a knock, while Emile Smith Rowe remains out. Mikel Arteta said of the England international a couple of weeks ago: “That’s been an ongoing issue that he’s had. He’s had some discomfort in the groin area and hasn’t had any continuity this season. It’s something we are trying to assess.

“We’re trying to help him as much as possible in any way we can because we need him fit, we need him available, and we need him performing at his best level because he’s such an important player for us. Unfortunately, for this period and periods last year, we haven’t had him.”

Mohamed Elneny is the only other Arsenal absentee here.

As for PSV, Olivier Boscagli and Marco van Ginkel are sidelined with knee and hamstring injuries respectively. Ismael Saibari, Kjell Peersman and Yorbe Vertessen are also expected to miss out.