Arsenal are hoping that Declan Rice will be fit for Saturday’s clash with Aston Villa in the Premier League.

The England midfielder was forced off late on during the 2-0 win over Brentford on Wednesday night with a calf problem.

Rice said after the game that he was “fine” , though Mikel Arteta will make a late call on his involvement this weekend.

“Well, let’s see,” the Arsenal boss said on Friday. “I think with all the questions I am going to get, the answer unfortunately is going to be the same.

“We have another training session in the afternoon. Every hour is going to be very important to see the availability. So, after that, we will decide who travels.”

Arsenal will definitely be without both Gabriel (thigh) and Kai Havertz (knee) for their trip to Villa Park, and have a

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