Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to miss Arsenal's clash with Man Utd

Arsenal are again expected to be without striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for Saturday's visit of Manchester United.

The Gabon international has missed the last two games, FA Cup and Premier League meetings with Southampton, as he has been taking care of his mother, who has been suffering with an illness.

He took to Twitter on Wednesday to explain his absence and reveal that his mother has made progress in her recovery, leaving some fans hopeful that Aubameyang may be back in time for Saturday's game.

However, according to football.london, that will come too soon for Aubameyang, who will remain away from the squad for at least one more game.

"Yes, he’s our captain and one of the most important players," manager Mikel Arteta said when asked about Aubameyang's absence. "We are doing everything we can to have him as quickly as possible.

"But understanding that he’s been through difficult days that he had to support his family. We were here to support him as well with the time that he needed to get that sorted."

While being with Aubameyang is obviously a huge blow, Arteta has been handed a boost elsewhere as Thomas Partey, Emile Smith Rowe and Kieran Tierney were all part of training in the build-up to the United clash.

Partey and Smith Rowe were both forced off last time out against Southampton, while Tierney missed the game altogether, but all three made it back to training in time to be in contention.

Real Madrid loanee Martin Odegaard was also part of training and is now in line to make his debut for the Gunners, with Arteta revealing his excitement at the prospect of working with such a fascinating young player.

"He hasn’t played that many minutes in Madrid but he’s been training hard and he looks so excited, as we are, to have another big talent at our club," the boss added.

“He’s a specialist to play in the pockets, to play in the eight or ten positions. He can play off the sides. He’s a really creative player who’s really comfortable on the ball in tight spaces. He has the capacity to create chances and to score goals.

“Something that he has improved a lot is his work-rate without the ball as well, so it’s another option to give us more creativity for sure in the final third, and give us more options to set up in different ways against certain teams.”

For more from ​Tom Gott, follow him on ​Twitter!