Unai Emery Offers Positive Injury Update on Arsenal Duo Following Opening Day Victory

​Arsenal's boss Unai Emery has revealed that Rob Holding and Hector Bellerin are edging closer to a first team return following the 1-0 win against Newcastle at St James' Park.

Both players sustained serious knee ligament damage last season, missing the second half of the Gunners' campaign as they reached the Europa League final, having finished fifth in the Premier League.

Arsenal strengthened their defensive options in the summer by recruiting David Luiz from Chelsea and Kieran Tierney from Celtic, and Emery has now hinted that both Holding and Bellerin are edging closer to returning - providing increased strength in depth.

"I want to have very competitive players in each position, with David Luiz, with Holding when he is coming to help us, training regularly and playing minutes. He is going to play tomorrow for the Under-23s," Emery said, as quoted by football.London.

"Also Hector Bellerin is coming back, I think one month more. Today we had Sead [Kolasinac] out and Kieran Tierney injured. We want to be strong defensively but above all being an offensive team."

Bellerin was initially thought to be out until October, but the encouraging words from Emery provides hope that he'll be back in action sooner rather than later.

Currently, Bellerin, Holding, Tierney and Konstantinos Mavropanos are on the treatment table, though all four are now expected to return within the next couple of months

On the field, Arsenal got their Premier League campaign off to a winning start, keeping a rare clean sheet away from home as ​Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's second half goal fired the Gunners to a narrow 1-0 win.