Lacazette and Aubameyang injury news: How Arsenal could line up vs Bournemouth without star strikers

After a quiet start to the season, Arsenal pair Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang have become one of the strongest strike partnerships in the league.

The pair have scored 12 goals and made six assists between them, playing a part in 75 per cent of all Gunners goals this season.

You could forgive Arsenal fans for being panic-stricken when it became apparent that both strikers have been struggling with injuries.

How serious are their injuries?

During the international break it was revealed that Aubameyang was suffering with a back injury, while Lacazette was forced to pull out of the France squad with a groin problem.

The good news is that the pair returned to training on Wednesday, meaning fans needn’t sweat over long-term lay-offs.

What’s more, the club’s official Twitter account posted this video of Aubameyang break-dancing, suggesting he has shaken off that back injury…

End of the international break got us feeling like…

@Aubameyang7 pic.twitter.com/PvMGYS1AHd

— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) November 21, 2018

But question marks remain over whether the pair will feature against Eddie Howe’s side this weekend, and if they do feature whether they’ll be able to last the full 90 minutes.

Lacazette and Aubameyang have returned to full training. #AFC pic.twitter.com/jepBDjSz6h

— Ben Dinnery (@BenDinnery) November 22, 2018

How could Arsenal line up without the duo?

With Danny Welbeck already sidelined, Arsenal would be without their three first-choice strikers if Aubameyang and Lacazette struggled to regain full fitness.

Without the trio of strikers Unai Emery could be forced to introduce young forward Eddie Nketiah into the Gunners’ starting XI. The 19-year-old has appeared just 10 times in the first team, but has shown promise in front of goal, memorably scoring twice against Norwich City in a frantic League Cup tie last term.

Alternatively the Spanish manager could employ attacking midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan in an improvised centre forward position, with Mesut Ozil not far behind.

Neither choice will fill fans with much optimism.

i verdict

It looks like both strikers could well feature this weekend, a relief no doubt to all followers of the north London side.

But with Welbeck their main backup option set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines, Emery could well be in the market for a new striker come January following this scare.