Football
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Romelu Lukaku fit for Everton clash vs. Arsenal, says Roberto Martinez

LIVERPOOL -- Romelu Lukaku will be fit for Everton's Premier League trip to Arsenal on Sunday despite a Europa League hamstring scare.

The 21-year-old striker took his goal total for the season to 15 by scoring twice in a 3-1 round of 32 second-leg win over Swiss side Young Boys at Goodison Park on Thursday, helping the Toffees to a 7-2 aggregate win.

He limped off early in the second half with suspected hamstring trouble, but manager Roberto Martinez says there is no reason for concern. Martinez said: "Rom is fine. Yesterday was about making sure that he didn't accumulate too much work. The hamstring's fine.

"He trained well this morning. I don't expect him to be a problem for the weekend," he said.

Lukaku scored five of Everton's seven goals against Young Boys, and Martinez feels that the Belgium international is starting to justify the club-record 28 million pounds fee paid to Chelsea for him last July.

He said: "He's been very influential, and not just in the last couple of weeks. Since the turn of the year, we've seen a player who is in perfect physical condition.

"I don't think he was in that state at the beginning of the season, because recovering after the World Cup probably brought about a delay in him reaching his best moment from a physical point of view.

"As you know, Romelu needs to be in that position to perform and play his best football. Recently, he's been creating numerous chances to score. When you see his goalscoring record, it's quite unique.

"We want to see Romelu fully fit and being able to have that effect on the team from now until the end of the season."

Unlike Everton, Arsenal had a disappointing week in Europe, suffering a 3-1 defeat at home to Monaco in their Champions League round of 16 first leg match on Wednesday.

They have lost only once at the Emirates Stadium in the Premier League, though, and nobody has scored more times at home in the top flight this season.

Martinez is also wary of the fact that Arsene Wenger's side will have had an extra day to recover and prepare for Sunday's match.

He said: "I don't think Arsenal will suffer a psychological setback over what happened against Monaco.

"Arsenal have incredible experience in this kind of games. It is true that an extra 24 hours in terms of recovery makes a big difference.

"We need to make sure that we are fully fit and refreshed to look forward to what is going to be an exciting game.

"Arsenal are the highest goalscorers in the league at home, they have only lost once, and we know that they will present a really difficult task for us.

"In the same manner, after our result at the weekend, we want to perform well and go for a good result."

Everton are the only British team left in the Europa League, but are in danger of being drawn into a domestic relegation battle.

Martinez's side are six points above the bottom three, having won one of their last 10 league matches.

They might have been on the fringes of the battle for Champions League places had they not dropped 17 points from winning positions this season.

Martinez said: "It is true that we go into the league with too much responsibility, feeling that we've got something to lose, rather than something to gain.

"In the Europa League, I feel that it's been completely different. From a mental point of view, it's been an opportunity to show what we can do. That's the manner in which we should be approaching league games.

"Going into the final third of the league season, we know we're not in a position to go for the top four.

"We're in a position to get as many points as we can, and finish as high as we can. Maybe now is the time to concentrate game by game and find a real enjoyment in our domestic competitions."

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