Paul Lambert was boosted by the return to training of Darren Bent and Eric Lichaj ahead of Saturday's clash against Arsenal.

The duo are available for selection again after recovering from ankle and leg strain injuries respectively.

Bent and Lichaj joined the rest of the squad to gear up for the Gunners encounter.

Club photographer Neville Williams was on hand to photograph the players in training.

Bent and Lichaj are set to add to the competition for places as Villa look to bounce back from consecutive defeats to Manchester United and Manchester City.

However, Joe Bennett [leg], Charles N'Zogbia [knee], Chris Herd [knee], Richard Dunne [groin] and Gary Gardner [cruciate ligament] are still out.

Defensive duo Derrick Williams and Janoi Donacien were also involved with first team training after impressing for Villa's U21 team.

Check out the training picture gallery ahead of the Arsenal match.