Arsenal‘s strong start to the season continues as confidence grows that this may be the year that the club ends the long wait for a Premier League title.
A relatively comfortable victory over Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League was evidence of the side’s development over the last couple of seasons with a squad capable of fighting on all fronts.
While Mikel Merino was finally able to make his debut against PSG, Mikel Arteta is still dealing with a number of injuries within his first-team group and will have to manage his remaining options carefully amid a busy calendar.
Martin Odegaard
The midfielder suffered an injury on international duty with Norway and has now missed several Premier League games. A return will not come before October’s international break, with Arteta giving a gloomy update on captain Odegaard’s condition: “The scan showed some damage around the ligaments in the ankle so we are going to miss him. It’s something quite significant so we are going to lose him for a while. Hopefully not months.”
Possible return: Late October/early November.
Jurrien Timber
Timber himself sounded the alarm ahead of Arsenal’s Champions League encounter with PSG about the hectic schedule with which top players are having to contend, echoing a prevailing conversation across the start of the continental campaign. It would have been a concern, then, for Arteta to have to take the versatile Dutch defender off at half time in the win.
His manager moved to allay fears post-match, though, insisting the substitution was precautionary as he manages Timber’s minutes after a long injury lay-off last season. “He was unbelievable in the first half, but he felt something muscular and he wasn’t certain,” Arteta explained. “So I didn’t want to take any risks.
“He’s been out for a year and he’s played a lot of minutes, probably more minutes than we would have wanted in the past few weeks and we have to manage him.”
Possible return: 5 October
Ben White
White has missed Arsenal’s last three games with a reported groin issue. Arteta suggested ahead of the PSG fixture that the defender had an outside chance of featuring but he was again absent from the matchday squad, and may be given the international break to recover before returning to action.
Possible return: 19 October
Oleksandr Zinchenko
Zinchenko is apparently missing with a calf injury, although there have been no official updates from the club on his condition. The Ukrainian played for his country earlier this month against the Czech Republic.
Possible return: Unknown.
Takehiro Tomiyasu
The Japanese full-back has not featured yet this season due to a knee injury, and he remains missing from training.
“At the moment, it’s difficult to say,” Arteta said recently on Tomiyasu’s progress. “It’s a bit slow the process of the first phase of that injury. It’s probably for the medical team to say more on that.”
Possible return: Unknown.
Kieran Tierney
Tierney was named in Arsenal’s Champions League squad, suggesting he could be back to fitness in the not distant future, having struggled with a hamstring injury picked up playing for Scotland at Euro 2024.
Arteta said: “He needs to focus on recovering in the best possible way, it’s been a tough time for him again with the last injury. We have to try to support him and make sure he gets back fit.”
Possible return: November.
