Two Arsenal players did not attend practice before their upcoming game against Aston Villa.

As Arsenal prepared for their upcoming match against Aston Villa, the team faced some minor setbacks during their final training session at the Emirates Stadium. Gabriel Magalhaes and Jakub Kiwior were both missing from the session, leaving manager Mikel Arteta with some defensive injury concerns.

After a tough loss to Manchester City on Saturday, Arsenal dropped to second place in the Premier League standings. However, they have the opportunity to reclaim the top spot if they can secure a win against Villa on Sunday. But with two key players possibly out due to injuries, Arteta will have to strategize carefully for the match against Unai Emery's side.

Gabriel, who has been dealing with an Achilles issue for the past month, was absent from Friday's training session and was not seen with his teammates during their final preparations on Saturday. Kiwior, who was substituted at halftime during their Champions League game against Bayern Munich, also did not participate in Saturday's session.

In their absence, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Oleksandr Zinchenko could potentially fill in at center-back for Gabriel and Kiwior. Tomiyasu, who has only started five Premier League games this season, was part of the group that trained on Saturday. Meanwhile, Zinchenko, who replaced Kiwior in the Bayern match, is also available for selection.

As Arsenal looks to reclaim their spot at the top of the Premier League, they will have to face a Villa side without influential midfielder Douglas Luiz, who is serving a suspension. Emery's team currently sits in fourth place, tied with Tottenham on points but with a better goal difference. However, Villa's recent form has not been as impressive, with only one win in their last five Premier League games.

Despite Emery's previous managerial experience with Arsenal, he does not believe it will give him an advantage in this match. "It's not really something more than playing against them, with the difficulty we are going to face and respecting them," he said.

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