Unai Emery Boosted by Alex Iwobi Return as 4 Other Arsenal Players Face Late Fitness Tests

Alex Iwobi is available for selection this weekend, but four of his teammates face late fitness tests ahead of Arsenal's trip to St James' Park.

The Nigerian international was ruled out of the Cardiff match with illness but has now recovered and could start against Newcastle, as the Gunners' look for their third consecutive victory. 

Arsenal started poorly with defeats to Manchester City and Chelsea but have since picked up six points from two games.

Arsenal manager Unai Emery, however, will be waiting on the late fitness tests of Granit Xhaka, Stephan Lichtsteiner, Sokratis and Danny Welbeck as the Spaniard tries to decide who will make the starting XI against the Magpies.

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When asked about the fitness of these four stars, as quoted by Football London, Emery said: "I hope that they come back well and prepare for the match in Newcastle. Saturday is another important step, I want us to continue showing out personality on the pitch.

“We are in a process and we need wins, so it was very important in our last match that we won." The Arsenal manager added: "We want to continue improving things at Newcastle."

Emery also spoke at the press conference about his relationship with Mesut Ozil and pushing the German on the pitch. 

The manager said: "[We get on] very well. Here for me it isn’t for a lot of the time speaking about what people are telling us.

"I have a very good relationship with Mesut and professionally I push him for improvements to give us the best in his qualities and performances."