Arteta’s side head to the Vitality Stadiumon Saturday (Picture: Getty)
Declan Rice was one of five Arsenal stars not spotted in the club’s final training session ahead of Saturday’s Premier League clash with Bournemouth.
The Gunners thrashed Aston Villa at the Emirates on Tuesday without Rice in the side.
The midfielder, along with Riccardo Calafiori, was ruled out ahead of kick-off with Mikel Arteta revealing a minor knee problem meant he could not be involved.
Arteta explained post-match swelling around the knee, the result of a kick he received in the win over Brighton last weekend, left Rice unable to train.
Asked if a decision has been made over Rice’s availability in his pre-match press conference on Friday, Arteta said: ‘Not yet.
‘We have another session, let’s see how he comes today and how that is feeling, but it was too early that game (against Villa) for him.
‘Obviously we haven’t trained yet so today is going to be the first training session properly with the players who started against Villa, so we will know more this afternoon.’
New Year’s gains 🏋️♂️View our pre-AFC Bournemouth training gallery 👇— Arsenal (@Arsenal) January 2, 2026
Arsenal have since shared imagery from Friday’s training session with Rice nowhere to be seen in the shots released by the Gunners this evening.
Calafiori and Cristhian Mosquera were also absent from the group.
Rice is a doubt for the weekend (Picture: Getty)
Calafiori has missed Arsenal’s last two games after picking up a knock in the warm-up ahead of the Brighton game last Saturday while Mosquera is still recovering from an ankle injury.
Kepa Arrizabalaga and Ethan Nwaneri were also not spotted in the images shared by Arsenal.
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Arsenal head into the weekend four points clear of Manchester City, who dropped points away to Sunderland on Thursday night.
Arteta’s side can extent that to seven points on Saturday with City in action against Chelsea on Sunday afternoon.
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