Chelsea team news: Sarri confirms injury boost but midfielder out of Arsenal trip

Chelsea will look to tighten their grip on fourth place with a win when they take on Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday evening. 

Ahead of the game, Maurizio Sarri has been speaking to the media at his pre-match press conference this afternoon and he’s offered a team news and injury update including the latest on Alvaro Morata, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Olivier Giroud.

The Chelsea boss was pleased to confirm that Morata has been in full training with the rest of the squad this week after overcoming a hamstring injury that’s hampered the Spanish international in recent games.

However, while Morata is fit and available for selection, Sarri has admitted he isn’t sure whether the striker will feature against Arsenal amid speculation he’s set for a transfer back to Spain before the end of the month.

With Morata highly unlikely to start on Saturday, Olivier Giroud is pushing for a recall against his former club but the Chelsea coach has hinted the Frenchman may have to settle for a place on the bench once again.

Sarri is concerned by Arsenal’s attacking threat and says Chelsea need to have ‘balance on the pitch’, which sounds like he’s ready to deploy Eden Hazard in the false 9 role up front at the Emirates this weekend.

Chelsea have no fresh injury concerns to worry about but Sarri confirmed that Ruben Loftus-Cheek will continue to miss out against Arsenal as the midfielder is still recovering from a niggling back injury.

Sarri is quoted as saying by Football London:

“I don’t know if he [Morata] will play, he is training with us of course. It is normal. It is a difficult moment, it is normal for a player in January to be involved in a market. He is available (to play).”

“I don’t know at the moment [if Giroud will start]. I think Giroud played very often in the first six months. It’s normal I can choose something different. Tomorrow is huge for our defence so we need balance on the pitch.”

“Only Loftus is out for his back.”

Chelsea head in to the weekend action sitting six points clear of Arsenal in fourth place so a win would put them firmly in the driving seat to secure one of the Champions League qualification places this season.