Mikel Arteta sweating on fitness of two key players as duo miss secret Arsenal friendly

Arsenal could be without Aaron Ramsdale and Takehiro Tomiyasu for their Premier League game against Crystal Palace on Monday.

Mikel Arteta is preparing his players for the trip to Selhurst Park as the international break draws to a close. The Gunners are fourth in the Premier League, three points above rivals Tottenham with a game in hand, and need to try and keep up the momentum they have from winning six of their last seven matches.

Arsenal ’s hopes of winning in south London could be dented by injury woes, however, with Ramsdale and Tomiyasu doubts for the game. Neither player was involved in their country’s games over the international break and face a race to be fit for Monday’s 8pm kick-off.

Ramsdale was forced to withdraw from the squad for England’s friendlies against Switzerland and Cote d’Ivoire due to a hip injury. The 23-year-old goalkeeper picked up the injury in the 2-0 defeat by Liverpool on March 16 and subsequently sat out of the 1-0 win over Aston Villa.

Bernd Leno deputised in that game at Villa Park and could be needed to make his fifth league start of the season on Monday. Ramsdale has been working hard on his recovery during the break, but has not fully overcome the injury and his chances of playing are rated '50-50' for the match, according to the Daily Mail .

Tomiyasu was not selected by Japan’s World Cup qualifiers over the international break due to a long-running calf injury. He has been out of the side since playing 90 minutes in the 2-0 defeat by Liverpool in the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg on January 20, with Arteta admitting that the club would be “very cautious” over managing his return.

He is not expected to feature against Palace after being left out of Arsenal’s