Team news: Arsenal blow as key man one of 3 players set to miss Crystal Palace trip

Arsenal get back to Premier League action when they take on Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Saturday lunchtime.

Mikel Arteta will be looking to build on recent wins over Manchester United and Leeds United but the Gunners coach looks set to be without one of his key players for the trip to Palace this weekend.

According to the Evening Standard, Hector Bellerin is expected to miss the game on Saturday as he continues to recover from a hamstring injury that’s kept him on the sidelines for over a month.

Bellerin hasn’t featured for Arsenal since the defeat to Brighton on December 5 after picking up a thigh problem and he sat out the FA Cup win over Leeds on Monday night despite returning to training last week.

The clubs official team news update on Arsenal.com says Bellerin will be assessed ahead of this weekend’s game but the Evening Standard claims the 24-year-old is set to miss out once again as Arsenal are reluctant to rush him back in fear of aggravating his hamstring.

Bellerin’s continued absence means Ainsley Maitland-Niles is expected to start at right-back after impressing in recent weeks so Sokratis is set to move back into the middle of the Arsenal defence after a stint on the right against Leeds.

Elsewhere, Calum Chambers will obviously be on the sidelines for the foreseeable future after being ruled out for up to nine months with a knee ligament injury that he sustained during the defeat to Chelsea late last month.

Kieran Tierney is also still out recovering from shoulder surgery so Sead Kolasinac should continue at left-back after making a swift recovery from an ankle problem that he aggravated against Man Utd on New Year’s Day.

Otherwise, Arteta has a fully fit squad to choose from for the trip to Crystal Palace so Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Lucas Torreira are among the players set to be recalled after being rested for the FA Cup win over Leeds.