SCOTT Parker says he will make a late call on whether to hand Marcos Senesi his first Cherries start on Saturday, with the Argentine now "in a better place than he was last week".

Following his arrival from Feyenoord, Senesi was named among the substitutes for last weekend's trip to champions Manchester City.

The 25-year-old got his first taste of Premier League action, coming off the bench to replace fellow new signing Marcus Tavernier with 10 minutes of the contest remaining, with Cherries already 4-0 down.

After the match, Parker described Senesi's cameo display as "exceptional".

Asked if he now feels the centre-back is ready to come in from the start when Arsenal visit Vitality Stadium this weekend, boss Parker said: "There’s definitely a chance. Marcos came in and I didn’t think it was the right game for him.

“Certainly, after the work he’d had with us – he’d barely had any work with us - I thought it was a good decision to let him watch from afar and see exactly what he has experienced.

“He has had another week of training, so he is certainly in a better place to maybe get the shirt at the weekend.

“We will see where we are tomorrow and I will make that call on it.

“He is in a better place than he was last week, just down to training time and him being around the team a little bit more – and the work he has been able to do with us."