Team news | Radu 'very close', Ben and Kota back in training | OneFootball

Thomas Frank has positive news on three defenders - with Radu Dragusin, out since January, closing in on availability.

Radu - who came through his first 45-minute stint on his return from a serious knee injury last week - has been joined in training by Ben Davies and Kota Takai. Ben has been out since October after picking up a hamstring injury on international duty for Wales, while Kota has yet to feature due to a plantar fascia issue he picked up in pre-season.

Thomas was asked for the latest on Radu in his pre-Arsenal press conference on Friday. "Yes, very happy," he said. "He's probably been at it for a couple of weeks now, full training, full in, everything with the team.

"He played his first 45 minutes in nine months, something like that, last Wednesday, very happy with that. He trained fully today. He's definitely getting very close to being able to be selected, it's just a matter of performance and probably just a few more game minutes to be fully available.

"Kota and Ben both trained with the team today, first time, so that's also positive."