Arsene Wenger has confirmed that Arsenal will still be without Santi Cazorla and Hector Bellerin for the side’s game against Bournemouth on Sunday afternoon.

Cazorla has not featured for the Gunners since their 6-0 Champions League win over Ludogorets last month while Bellerin continues to recover from an ankle injury he picked up in the 1-1 north London derby.

“I don’t think we have any injuries from the other night,” Wenger said at his Friday press conference. “Cazorla and Bellerin are still out.”

Although forward Lucas Perez is similarly expected to be unavailable for Sunday’s clash at the Emirates, Wenger suggested that the Spaniard could feature in next week’s Champions League dead-rubber at FC Basel.

“Lucas trained today and might be in contention for Wednesday,” he added. “But one training session is not enough for Sunday.”

Per Mertesacker and Danny Welbeck remained sidelined with long-term injuries.

Wenger also sought to tackle questions addressing Granit Xhaka’s recent absence from the Arsenal starting XI.

The Swiss midfielder became Wenger’s third most expensive signing when he arrived from Borussia Monchengladbach for £34m in the summer but has only started eight games out of 19 this season.

The 24-year-old was left on the bench for Wednesday’s crucial Champions League tie with Paris Saint-Germain and has been overlooked for big games against Chelsea and Manchester United.

“Maybe he hasn’t starting that many games, but he is adapting well to the new league and I am happy with him,” Wenger said.



Predicted line-ups:

Arsenal 4-2-3-1: Cech; Jenkinson, Mustafi, Koscielny, Gibbs; Xhaka, Ramsey; Walcott, Ozil, Iwobi; Sanchez.