Arsenal handed Eddie Nketiah boost ahead of West Ham clash but doubts remain over William Saliba

Eddie Nketiah is “back” for Arsenal’s clash with West Ham while three players were absent from training on Tuesday, a Sky Sports producer has claimed.

The momentum in the Premier League title race swung in Manchester City’s favour at the weekend as Liverpool came from two goals down to draw 2-2 with the Gunners.

In turn, Arsenal saw their seven-game winning run come to an end, while they squandered the chance to go eight points clear of City at the Premier League summit.

And though the Gunners still have a six-point advantage over their title rivals, Pep Guardiola's men have a game in hand and are due to welcome Mikel Arteta's side to the Etihad later this month.

Despite Sunday's disappointing result, Arteta’s squad will be boosted by the return of Nketiah when they face West Ham at the weekend, should reports be believed.

Nketiah to return vs West Ham?

A Sky Sports producer has claimed Nketiah "is back" in the Arsenal fold having recovered from an ankle injury.

However, French centre-back William Saliba is still thought to be struggling with a back injury and is unlikely to be risked at the weekend.

Meanwhile, Ben White and Oleksandr Zinchenko were also reportedly absent from training, though merely because they were doing "recovery work" away from the rest of Arteta's squad.

Connor Humm, who is the founder of The AFC newsroom and a Junior Assistant Producer at Sky Sports, tweeted: “Ben White and Zinchenko were not spotted in training as they were doing recovery work.

“William Saliba is unlikely to be risked against West Ham but he is NOT ruled out totally as of yet.

“Eddie Nketiah is BACK.”

Nketiah's return will come as a major boost to Arteta. The 23-year-old stepped up during Gabriel Jesus' absence, firing Arsenal to a number of pivotal wins.

Arteta gave a cryptic injury update ahead of the Gunners' 2-2 draw with Liverpool, which could possibly be in reference to Nketiah.

The Spaniard said: "No, no real changes to the rest of the players who were injured. We have some hope on one who may be able to train tomorrow but we’ll have to see."

Topics: Arsenal, West Ham United, Football, Eddie Nketiah, William Saliba, Premier League

Chris Byfield

Sport journalist with experience writing on football, rugby, boxing and the Olympics. I'm also a Crystal Palace fan. Please don't hold this against me.