Mikel Arteta faced the media on Friday, giving us the latest Arsenal team news ahead of Sunday’s Community Shield.
That clash with Manchester City comes five days before the Gunners’ Premier League curtain-raiser against Coventry City.
SALIBA + TIMBER LATEST
As we’ve known for a while now, Arsenal will start the season without William Saliba (back) and Jurrien Timber (groin).
Timber will be back long before Saliba, with the Dutchman earmarked for a return to training next week.
“Jurrien is progressing really well. He is on the pitch. We are ramping up now with certain actions and especially the volume and the load, and I think he is on a good trajectory, but there are still a few weeks to go.
“Wilo, as we all know, it’s more a long-term injury.” – Mikel Arteta
“I don’t know [if Timber will be back before the international break]. We have to wait and see. He needs to start training with the group in the next week or so, hopefully, and then see how he progresses from there. It’s been a long-term issue right now, and we want to make sure that every step that we take is the right one. He feels right to do that and he’s such an important player for us.” – Mikel Arteta
SAKA, RICE + ZUBIMENDI RETURNS
Aside from injury news, Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice and Martin Zubimendi are the last stragglers back from the World Cup.
Back in training, none of them featured in the midweek draw with Como.
All of them should be involved at Wembley on Sunday, however.
“They will be available. They trained with us today, they will train tomorrow, and if they are in the condition we expect them to be in, they will be involved.” – Mikel Arteta on Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice and Martin Zubimendi
Saka and Rice were carefully managed by England in the Americas but Arteta downplayed any talk of lingering fitness issues.
“We haven’t noticed anything. They have individual plans from their time with the national team. They’ve been trying to evolve those issues and they have improved. In the rest period that they had, they both had specific programmes for themselves. They’ve been doing those and so far, what I saw the last two or three days, it was really good.” – Mikel Arteta on any fitness issues affecting Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice
