Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has been handed another injury boost, following a torrid few weeks, with the Gunners boss dealt major selection headaches in crucial encounters.
Arteta set to welcome Arsenal stars back from injury soon
While no update has come to light on versatile defender Takehiro Tomiyasu, who was recently sidelined with another injury after just returning from a knee problem, Arteta has at least been handed some good news this week.
RELATED
Mikel Arteta praises “big” unseen talent at Arsenal and teases full debut
The Spaniard could play him very soon.
Riccardo Calafiori will be missing for a “few weeks”, according to Arteta, but the Italy international, Tomiyasu and Martin Odegaard appear to be Arsenal’s only major concerns right now.
Club captain Odegaard has been sidelined for over a month after sustaining ankle ligament damage on his last international tour of duty with Norway, but Arteta is optimistic that the 25-year-old could now be back before the next international break.
| Arsenal’s next five Premier League games | Date |
|---|---|
| Newcastle United (away) | November 2 |
| Chelsea (away) | November 10 |
| Nottingham Forest (home) | November 23 |
| West Ham United (away) | November 30 |
| Man United (home) | December 4 |
“Hopefully yes but we’ll have to see how he goes,” said Arteta on Odegaard returning before internationals re-commence.
“He’s been on the grass for a few weeks. But there are still a few boxes to tick. How fast we can do that last stage of the rehab is a question we have to answer when we have players around and he starts competing with the team, something he hasn’t done yet.”
Arsenal were dealt a scare in their 2-2 draw with Liverpool when star defender Gabriel Magalhaes made way for Jakub Kiwior on 54 minutes, but the manager has since confirmed that his problem isn’t serious.
“We are still assessing him, it doesn’t look bad at all,” said Arteta on Gabriel’s current condition.
“He was much better than expected, so hopefully he’ll be fine.”
Arteta also confirmed that Jurrien Timber is match fit, and his removal against Liverpool for teenager Myles Lewis-Skelly was merely a precaution.
This trio of boosts for Arsenal has now been complemented with a rare update on Kieran Tierney, with the Scotland international closing in on a return after he suffered a serious hamstring injury at Euro 2024.
Tierney suddenly close to Arsenal return after months out
While Tierney is very likely to leave Arsenal in 2025, Arteta could still choose to call upon the former Celtic star after including him in the club’s Champions League and Premier League squad lists for this season.
Speaking ahead of their tie with PNE this evening, Arteta says that Tierney is suddenly “close” to returning from injury and is looking “sharp” behind the scenes at London Colney.
“I think he’s quite close,” said Arteta on Tierney.
“He’s looking really good. I think he’s over the period where he was still struggling, so he looks really sharp out there. He hasn’t trained with the team yet but hopefully he can do that in the next week or two.”
The “incredible” 27-year-old hasn’t featured for Arsenal since their Community Shield win last year, but it will still be useful for Arteta to have the experienced left-back to call upon if needed.
Sporting director Edu Gaspar will also be eager for Tierney to come back fit and firing, as the Brazilian attempts to find him a new club next year.
