Journalist Charles Watts has claimed that Arsenal defender Oleksandr Zinchenko should be fit to play amid his recent injury concerns.
What's the latest injury news for Arsenal and Oleksandr Zinchenko?
The Gunners had to make do without their Ukrainian left-back last time out in the Premier League but felt his absence as they squandered a two-goal lead in a 2-2 away draw at West Ham United.
As a result, Mikel Arteta and his side have seen their lead at the top of the table drop to just four points, despite having played one more game than Manchester City.
What's more, Arsenal face Pep Guardiola's men next Wednesday. Before that, though, the host Southampton and will need to get back to winning ways at the Emirates.
With that being the case, fans will be delighted to hear some positive injury news about key man Zinchenko from Watts.
While talking on his YouTube channel, the journalist said (10:00): "Zinchenko, definitely more positive [news]. I'm expecting Zinchenko to play against Southampton on Friday night.
"He did travel with the squad to West Ham. He was there. And the expectation is he's going to be alright – we'll wait and see what Mikel Arteta says tomorrow [in his press conference].
"But certainly from what I've been told, they could have patched him up and even played him against West Ham but they chose not to, to err on the side of caution.
"And the expectation is that he will be back to play on Friday night."
Why does Zinchenko play ahead of Tierney?
With a 6.93 average WhoScored rating in the league this term, it's easy to see why Zinchenko has been so consistent for Arsenal.
Replacement left-back Kieran Tierney is down at 6.27 so the drop-off in quality is evident. What's more, the Scotland international has played just 606 minutes compared to Zinchenko's 1839 – so Arteta clearly trusts one player more than the other.
What's more, over the course of the season, Zinchenko has come in for some high praise. Back in January, for instance, journalist Freddie Paxton noted: "Alex Zinchenko. Constantly talking to his teammates. Geeing up the crowd. Never hides, master of keeping the ball. WORLD CLASS."
With all that in mind, the Ukraine international – who earns a reported £150k-p/w – certainly will be a welcome sight back in the starting XI if he can get himself back to full fitness ahead of the Southampton clash.
