Mikel Arteta’s revolving door of injuries shows little sign of letting up even as form on the pitch returns. In a week of celebration following wins over Nottingham Forest and Sporting CP, there are yet more issues for the manager to worry about.
He has been battling fitness issues throughout his squad since the summer and not although Declan Rice and Kai Havertz returned to the starting lineup in Portugal on Tuesday – alongside Martin Odegaard continuing his rapid progress towards finding top form immediately – more problems emerged. It comes at a bad time, too, as the winter schedule gets well under way.
Arsenal have eight games between now and the turn of the year with no free midweek until January 6. It is a run that includes crucial Champions League clashes and Premier League tests against Manchester United, Fulham, and Brighton.
Here, football.london has the latest injury news for the Gunners ahead of a trip to West Ham on Saturday.
Gabriel Magalhaes
Injury: Unknown.
Gabriel picked up a knock in the 5-1 win over Sporting CP and had to be taken off with just over five minutes of normal time to play. He returned to the pitch at the end of the game to celebrate with his teammates in front of the Arsenal fans, not seeming to be in too much pain.
What Arteta has said: “We had to make the change because he was feeling some discomfort. I was about to make the change for Raz [Raheem Sterling], poor thing, I couldn’t make the sub. We had to get him out.”
Possible return date: West Ham (A) – Saturday, November 30.
Ben White
Injury: Knee.
White had been playing through pain for some time for Arsenal but has had to have knee surgery. His last game was completing 90 minutes against Chelsea before the November international break but the damage had already been done.
What Arteta has said: “Ben is gonna be out for months unfortunately. It’s been different kinds of struggles. It’s never been the same thing. We had to make a decision. It’s not been improving in the last few weeks unfortunately.
“We know that Ben is going to push every boundary but it got to a point a where we have to protect the player and we decided to do the surgery. He agreed with that and unfortunately that’s going to keep him out for a few months.”
Possible return date: 2025.
Takehiro Tomiyasu
Injury: Knee.
The right-back has hardly played for club or country in 2024, plagued by injuries and constant setbacks. He has only appeared for six minutes this season and is not set to return anytime soon.
What Arteta has said: “He is going to be away now for a few weeks to continue with his treatment and as well change a little bit the environment, because psychologically it has been really, really tough for him – as you can imagine. He is a guy that the only thing he wants to do is work 24 hours to get better and he feels terrible when he is not fit.
“It’s a real shame, so we are going to give him the best opportunity to try out that kind of thing. If it can trigger something, unlock something and try to help him, to have him as quick as possible back – but I think we need to be patient.”
Possible return date: 2025.
