Hector Bellerin, Nacho Monreal and Theo Walcott all joined Arsenal’s training session this morning as Arsene Wenger’s side prepare for Sunday’s North London Derby.
All three are expected to require late fitness tests before their participation in the match against Tottenham is confirmed but Wenger offered a mostly positive assessment of the trio.
Bellerin “could have played in Bulgaria”, where Arsenal won 3-2 against Ludogorets, whilst Walcott was rated “the closest to coming back”.
Not pictured on the training field were either Kieran Gibbs or Santi Cazorla. Wenger had confirmed in his pre-match press conference that the Spanish midfielder would try to train with the rest of the side after suffering an Achilles injury two and a half weeks ago in the 6-0 win over Ludogorets.
A similar injury ruled Cazorla out for several months at the end of last season and Wenger will be reluctant to rush his playmaker back into the squad and risk further problems, particularly with Aaron Ramsey, Granit Xhaka, Mohamed Elneny and Francis Coquelin available.
Scroll through the gallery to see the best pictures from Arsenal’s pre-Tottenham training session
