Arsenal are sweating over the fitness of Thomas Partey ahead of Saturday's Premier League showdown with Aston Villa in the West Midlands.

The Ghana midfielder was left out of the squad for Wednesday's 3-1 defeat to Manchester City as a precaution due to a tight muscle, and his fitness will be closely monitored over the next couple of days.

Mohamed Elneny and Gabriel Jesus are still sidelined for the long-term after undergoing respective knee surgeries, but Emile Smith Rowe has recovered from a thigh injury and should make the squad.

Despite Partey's absence, Jorginho was a sight for sore eyes with a competent display against Man City, and Mikel Arteta will no doubt trust the Italian from the off again if Partey needs more time to recover.

Jorginho and Granit Xhaka should therefore partner up in the engine room as Martin Odegaard captains the side from the number 10 role, but there could still be an alteration in the final third.

Bukayo Saka and Eddie Nketiah are both shoo-ins, but Leandro Trossard should be in contention to displace Gabriel Martinelli, with Arteta promising changes amid the hectic schedule.

Takehiro Tomiyasu's dreadful backpass handed Kevin De Bruyne the opening goal on Wednesday, and the Japan international can expect to make way for Ben White after a disappointing rare start.

William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes and Oleksandr Zinchenko should otherwise form an unchanged backline in front of Aaron Ramsdale, who is aiming to become the first Arsenal goalkeeper to keep eight away clean sheets in a single Premier League season since Jens Lehmann in the 2003-04 Invincibles campaign.

Arsenal possible starting lineup: Ramsdale; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Xhaka, Jorginho; Saka, Odegaard, Trossard; Nketiah body check tags ::