There isn’t time for Arsenal to feel sorry for themselves as Mikel Arteta once again prepares to take his side into battle. This time in the Champions League, the perfect opportunity to respond to a third Premier League without a win is on the horizon.
Things don’t get much easier for Arsenal, as they move from St James’ Park and defeat to Newcastle on Sunday into the fiery atmosphere of 2023 finalists Inter on Wednesday. To make matters worse, there is little sign of his consistent injury conveyor belt stopping just yet.
Whilst there is good news for Martin Odegaard, and Gabriel Magalhaes was able to get back to action immediately following a concern against Liverpool, Declan Rice’s absence from pre-match training – he did not travel to Italy either – is something to keep an eye on. Arsenal know that a win would put them in a strong place to qualify automatically for the last-16.
Here, football.london has the latest from the Arsenal treatment room.
Declan Rice
Injury: Unknown.
Despite completing 90 minutes at the weekend against Newcastle, Rice was absent from training at the Sobha Realty Complex on Tuesday morning. He was not part of the travelling party to Milan either.
What Arteta said: “Declan unfortunately picked an injury against Newcastle. He was able to finish and he wasn’t feeling good the last few days. We’ll have to assess him on Thursday and see if he’s ready for Chelsea.”
Possible return date: Chelsea (A) – Sunday, November 10.
Ben White
Injury: Unknown.
White was absent against Preston in the Carabao Cup last week to load management but quickly became a doubt to face Newcastle. He only managed to partake in one training session prior to the game and was named in the matchday squad, playing 19 minutes of the defeat on Tyneside. He trained with his teammates ahead of Inter.
Possible return date: Returned.
Martin Odegaard
Injury: Ankle.
Odegaard finally made the leap into returning to team training after two months out. He was part of the group doing preparations at an open session on Tuesday morning. Odegaard travelled to Italy for the game, but was left out of Norway’s squad for the next international break.
What Arteta has said: “Martin it’s great to have him back. He trained with us first time today. He’s a bit earlier than expected. But it’s great to have him here and we will decide if we use him tomorrow.”
Possible return date: Inter Milan (A) – Wednesday, November 6.
Riccardo Calafiori
Injury: Knee.
Calafiori was forced off during the Champions League clash at home to Shakhtar Donetsk after slipping in a challenge. Reports in Italy suggested that he will only be out for several weeks. The issue is not described as being serious.
What Arteta has said: “He will be out for a few weeks, I would say.”
Possible return date: Nottingham Forest (H) – Saturday, November 23.
Takehiro Tomiyasu
Injury: Unknown.
Tomiyasu was again absent from the matchday squad against Preston North End last week after missing games against Shakhtar Donetsk, Liverpool and Bournemouth prior. The 25-year-old has struggled with injury for most of the calendar year, playing only six minutes of football since the 2024/25 season began.
What Arteta has said: “No, I don’t expect him to be available before then [the November international break], unfortunately.”
Possible return date: December.
Kieran Tierney
Injury: Hamstring.
Tierney remains out of action after suffering a devastating hamstring injury playing for Scotland against Switzerland during the Euro 2024 group stages in Cologne over the summer. This stopped what seemed to be a transfer plan in its tracks, as the defender was expected to leave the Emirates Stadium having spent last season on loan to Real Sociedad.
He is finally closing in on being back in training. There has been no sight of him just yet, though.
What Arteta has said: “I think he’s quite close. 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.”
Possible return date: West Ham (A) – Saturday, November 30.
