Arsenal face Aston Villa in the Premier League this weekend with Mikel Arteta providing injury updates on his players
09:48, 05 Dec 2025Updated 10:06, 05 Dec 2025
Mikel Arteta has issued three Arsenal injury updates before Aston Villa
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Mikel Arteta has issued three Arsenal injury updates before Aston Villa(Image: (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images))
Mikel Arteta has admitted that Cristhian Mosquera's ankle injury is "complicated" and requires another scan after he was forced off against Brentford. The Gunners face Aston Villa this weekend with it looking highly unlikely that Mosquera will be involved.
The Arsenal boss said on his summer signing: "That's the one that is more complicated. But again, we have another test today to see where we are with them.
When asked if the injury to Mosquera was serious, he said: "No, we need to know because the feeling we had after the game, we need to corroborate with the situation we felt after the game."
Arteta was first asked about Declan Rice but opted to provide a more generalises update: "Well, let's see. I think with all the questions I'm going to get, the answer, unfortunately, is going to be the same. We have another training session in the afternoon.
"Every hour is going to be very important to see the availability of the players. After that, we'll decide which hours."
Asked specifically about Trossard and Salibe, he replied: "Yeah, it is a matter of days with those two, for sure."
Pushed on if they could return against Villa, Arteta added: Yeah, it is a matter of days with those two, for sure. "It's a question of dates. As I said before, after the training session we will know more."
Trossard picked up his injury during the 3-1 Champions League win over Bayern Munich while Saliba, who was omitted from the squad to face Chelsea last weekend to the surprise of many, suffering his problem in training.
Gabriel Magalhaes is also unavailable because of a groin issue with a return for the Brazil international not expected until late December at the earliest.
Fitness problems have been a problem for the Gunners all season with their squad undoubtedly set to be tested over the busy Christmas period. Piero Hincapie looks set to be the only fit centre-back available to Arteta for the trip to Villa Park.
Jurrien Timber and Riccardo Calafiori, who have been Arsenal's first-choice full-backs, can both play there however, with the former replacing Mosquera in that role against Brentford. Rice can also play in the centre of defence but there are doubts over his status.
One positive is that the Gunners have far less attacking injuries with Viktor Gyokeres, Gabriel Martinelli, Martin Odegaard and Noni Madueke as recent returners.
Gabriel Jesus is also closing in on a long-awaited return from a serious knee injury suffered back in January with Arteta confirming he has participated in a behind-closed-doors friendly.
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(Image: (Photo by Javier Garcia/Shutterstock))
A third consecutive matchday squad appearance looks likely for Jesus given Arsenal's injury problems with Villa looking to continue their superb form as of late.
The chaotic 4-3 victory over Brighton on Wednesday was their sixth consecutive victory with Unai Emery's side having lost just two of their last 15 games in all competitions.
Unsurprisingly, Arteta is firmly aware of the challenge that awaits his side on Saturday lunchtime.
He said: "For what they've been doing, the way they've been playing. We know the manager and the incredible job that he has done."
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