Arsenal defender Takehiro Tomiyasu was not pictured in an open training session on Tuesday morning.

The Japanese international’s absence has prompted speculation about his fitness ahead of the game against Manchester United.

Some have suggested that Tomiyasu simply had the day off but it remains to be seen whether he will be in the travelling party for the clash at Old Trafford this weekend.

The fullback played the full 90 minutes during the 3-0 win over Bournemouth on Saturday and there was no indication after the match that he had picked up a knock.

Bukayo Saka was involved in training on Tuesday but there are some concerns about the winger’s overall fitness.

The England international had a strapping on his leg which suggests he did pick up some sort of minor injury against Bournemouth.

Saka has shown himself to be extremely resilient in terms of playing through the pain barrier when needed and, at the moment, there is no suggestion that he won’t make the trip to Manchester on Sunday.

It’s fair to say that the 22-year-old does get his fair share of rough challenges from opposition defenders but he always appears to brush them off.

Jurrien Timber has been slowly building up his fitness playing for the Under 21s in recent weeks, having fully recovered from an ACL Injury.

However, he didn’t feature as Arsenal’s development squad thrashed Manchester United 6-2 on Friday.

Many anticipated that Timber would make the bench for the match against Bournemouth as a result, but he wasn’t named among the substitutes.

Whether he makes the matchday squad for the game at Old Trafford this Sunday may depend on the fitness of Tomiyasu.