Mikel Arteta has provided a positive injury update on his Arsenal camp ahead of Saturday night's clash against Bournemouth, with the Gunners close to welcoming back several of their stars.

All three, Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Martinelli, have taken hits during the international break, but all three could well be in the running against the Cherries.

On Saka, Mikel Arteta said: “It’s not a serious injury. He's developing really well. We are hopeful. We have a training session this afternoon.”

Meanwhile, he added that Havertz would be available for Saturday's game if he trained on Friday, while Thomas Partey is also fit after missing international duty due to illness.

In further good news, the Arsenal manager said Jurrien Timber, Ben White and Oleksandr Zinchenko were “pretty close” to returning after missing the last game before the international break.

“Hopefully we have positive news today and it will be back tomorrow,” he explained.

And there was more good news for Martinelli, with Arteta explaining: “Yesterday he did something outside, today it will be another step and we will understand if we take the risk.”

One player who won't be back, however, is Martin Ødegaard, for whom next week will be “crucial” for his recovery.

“In this later phase of rehab that he is currently in, he has to overcome some obstacles, he has to get comfortable, especially with the ball. Next week will be crucial to understand how close he is.”

Also missing will be Takehiro Tomiyasu, who played his first six minutes of the season against Southampton but is now out again.

“Hopefully it doesn’t look like a long period of time. We really need him. “He has something different again,” revealed Arteta.

Can Arsenal get back into action with a bang and maintain their unbeaten start to the season?