Arsenal set for triple injury boost with three key stars in contention to return against Newcastle

ARSENAL could welcome back several first-team stars from injury this weekend.

Thomas Partey, Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko are all in contention to make the Gunners squad to face Newcastle at the Emirates tomorrow evening.

Mikel Arteta could see the return of three players for the game against NewcastleGetty

Gabriel Jesus is in contention to feature at the Emirates this weekendAP

And in another boost, boss Mikel Arteta believes left-back Jurrien Timber could return before the end of the campaign after recovering from ACL surgery.

However, Takehiro Tomiyasu is not expected to face the Toon with calf issues still troubling the Japanese full-back.

Partey [thigh] has been out since October and had a small set-back a few weeks ago, but returned to full training last week.

Arteta is keen not to rush the Ghanaian midfielder back too soon, but is more confident the minor knocks to Jesus [knee] and Zinchenko [calf] could be resolved for Saturday, meaning Arsenal could soon have a fully fit squad for the title run-in.

The Spanish coach explained on Partey’s status: “Let’s see. We have another session today. He’s been out for many, many months now.

“We need to really nail the timing of when he has enough in the tank to compete. But I think he’s very close. Same with Gabi. He’s done a few things. And Oleks is not far too.

“Tomiyasu still a little bit more.”

When asked if Timber could return before the end of the campaign, he added: “I really hope so. He’s doing really well. He’s been with some players on the pitch. He’s going to start to do some bits with us on the pitch in the next week or so.

“Then we’ll have to see how he’s doing, his confidence level, his fitness level. Hopefully the answer will be yes.”

Arsenal have won their last five Premier League games since losing 2-1 to Fulham on New Year’s Eve.

And they have been a free-scoring machine during that run, hitting the back of the net 21 times.

But Arteta’s men did suffer a setback in midweek as they lost 1-0 in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie against Porto.

They sit five points adrift of Premier League leaders Liverpool having played one game fewer.

A win over Newcastle would close the gap to just two, while they could also move above Manchester City if they fail to win at Bournemouth.

Oleksandr Zinchenko is another Arteta hopes to welcome back on SaturdayAP

Thomas Partey could be set to return after months on the sidelineGetty

ARSENAL NEWS LIVE: Stay up to date with all the latest transfer news from the Emirates