Arsenal will return to action next Saturday when they travel to Bournemouth in the Premier League and will be sweating on the fitness of a string of key players. The Gunners are one point behind league leaders Manchester City in the table after remaining unbeaten in their opening seven encounters.
Martin Odegaard, Ben White and Kai Havertz are all doubts for the trip to the Vitality Stadium as the north London giants chase another three points.
And Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta will be desperate to be handed positive news by his medical department ahead of the clash.
Odegaard has missed the Gunners’ last seven matches in all competitions after sustaining an ankle injury while playing for Norway in September.
He has stepped up his rehabilitation programme recently and was shown running on an AlterG anti-gravity treadmill earlier this week as his club published a video on X (formerly Twitter). “What a day,” he explained in the clip. “Running on the AlterG. Unreal.”
The 25-year-old also provided fans with an update in the Gunners matchday programme as his side took on Southampton at the weekend.
“In the last week or so I’ve made really good progress,” he wrote. “I’m getting better and better by the day and feel it’s going well. When you feel like things are moving forward, it gives you motivation to do more and more and work harder.
“Hopefully, it won’t be much longer. I think we will know more as soon as I get out on the training pitches and we see how my ankle responds to that. At the moment it’s progressing well and it looks better than we were thinking, but we’ve still got to take every day as it comes.”
Arteta, meanwhile, has admitted that it’s “difficult” to provide a “timeline” for the player’s return.
Ben White
White hasn’t featured since coming on as a half time substitute during his side’s 2-2 draw with title rivals Manchester City last month. The 27-year-old right-back was said to be “close” to featuring in the squad to face Southampton, with Arteta issuing a fitness update the day before the encounter.
Kai Havertz
Havertz has been unable to join up with the Germany squad over the international break after picking up a knee injury during the victory over Southampton. The 25-year-old has been in fine form this campaign and played the whole game against the Saints before his Germany withdrawal.
According to the Evening Standard, Havertz’s international absence is precautionary and Arsenal chiefs hope the striker will be fit for the visit to the south coast.
Thomas Partey is another player who has been forced to remain in the capital during the international break after withdrawing from the Ghana squad.
And there could be concerns for his welfare at the Emirates Stadium, with a statement from the Ghana Football Association reading: “Thomas is unable to join the Black Stars due to medical issues he is currently experiencing, and his club has scheduled him for further tests in the coming days.”
Jurrien Timber
Jurrien Timber was substituted at half time of Arsenal’s Champions League victory over Paris Saint-Germain at the start of October after he “felt something muscular” during the encounter, according to his boss.
Arteta insisted he, too, was “close” to featuring against Southampton last time out but wasn’t deemed fit enough to be selected in the Netherlands’ squad for their Nations League clashes.
