Jorginho will be hoping to begin a third successive Premier League game against Manchester United on Wednesday as Arsenal fans await further insight into the fitness of Mikel Merino.
Merino missed Saturday's 5-2 win over West Ham due to a knock to the knee and remains a doubt going into the clash with United. The availability of Gabriel Magalhaes is also unclear after the Brazilian was forced off early against the Hammers.
Mikel Arteta refused to divulge specific details about Merino, Gabriel or Thomas Partey - suffering from a muscle complaint - when pressed for injury updates in his pre-match press conference.
Asked for the latest updates, Arteta said: “We're gonna have a meeting this afternoon. We have done a training session. We monitored and kept some players away from certain activities. After that meeting I will decide which ones are fit and available and who will start.”
Gabriel had dropped a cryptic message on his Instagram page at the weekend, captioning a post with the words: “See you Wednesday”. Asked whether supporters could read anything into his caption, Arteta bluntly rebutted: “No.”
Jorginho has also been active on Instagram, taking to the social media platform to post a graphic of him in action, reminding his followers of the kick-off time for Wednesday’s visit of United.
Jorginho on Instagram (Image: Instagram/jorginhofrello)
Players often do this when they have been told they are due to play some part in the upcoming fixture. Meanwhile, Declan Rice has reposted an image from Arsenal’s official club account which holds the caption: ”Matchdays like these”.
The photo shows Rice celebrating with the Arsenal crowd after scoring late against United in last year’s fixture at the Emirates Stadium. He is expected to start the game once again, having played the full 90 minutes against West Ham on Saturday.
Declan Rice on Instagram (Image: Instagram/declanrice)
Previewing the game on Tuesday, Arteta said: "You can see [Amorim's] fingerprints, you know what he wants to do straight away, I think he’s been very clear.
"He’s been very successful with Sporting, it’s remarkable after so many years what he achieved there, especially in the way he did it and the way his teams have been playing. He brings energy to the club, to the players, new ideas and that’s always something that’s positive.
"It’s still very early in the season. Any team that has the capacity to put five or six wins in a row is going to be up there [at the top of the league] because it’s so tough and you see every week how all the teams are struggling to maintain winning, winning and winning. So I think anything is possible."