Latest: William Saliba, Declan Rice and Jurrien Timber
Arsenal Football Newsletter
Injury problems continue to mount for Arsenal ahead of a crucial few weeks in the title race.
Jurrien Timber is the latest player sidelined after he missed Wednesday’s Champions League win against Club Brugge, when Christian Norgaard had to play as an emergency centre-back with William Saliba not ready to return and Gabriel and Cristhian Mosquera both out.
Declan Rice was also missing in Belgium due to illness in another major fitness concern.
Arsenal were also without Leandro Trossard and Max Dowman but showed the strength of their squad with a comfortable 3-0 win in Belgium.
Focus for the Gunners now turns back to the Premier League and getting their title bid back on track after last weekend’s 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa.
Declan Rice has been struggling with illness
That result blew the title race wide open and, with Manchester City now just two points behind them, Arsenal face a crunch run of games.
They play Wolves at home on Saturday before a trip to Everton on December 20 and then have their Carabao Cup quarter-final against Crystal Palace on December 23.
After Christmas, Arsenal face home games against Brighton and Aston Villa knowing this period could be crucial to their title hopes.
Read More
Why Jurrien Timber is missing from Arsenal squad against Club Brugge
Arteta reveals plan for Arsenal youngster following senior debut
Glasner reveals Sarr injury latest in four-man Crystal Palace update
Winter escapes and activities to end the year in style
Declan Rice
Rice sparked concern among Arsenal fans when he missed an opening training session on Tuesday ahead of the Club Brugge game.
Arteta confirmed the midfielder, who had been forced off with a calf issue against Brentford on December 3, has not suffered an injury but has been struggling with illness.
“Declan was ill,” said Arteta on Tuesday. “He was quite sick after the [Villa] game, and he hasn’t travelled with us.
“He will have a couple of days to rest and to get his body right. But today, already, he was very keen to be able to play. But unfortunately, he’s not.”
After a rest in midweek, Rice will be pushing to return against Wolves.
Potential return date: Saturday December 13, vs Wolves (H)
Jurrien Timber
Timber was left out of the squad against Club Brugge as he became the latest Arsenal defender to be stuck down with injury.
Arteta revealed Timber and Riccardo Calafiori suffered “bad kicks” against Aston Villa last weekend.
Calafiori was on the bench in Belgium but Arteta said it was “too early” for Timber.
“They both had issues at the weekend, two really bad kicks,” said Arteta. “And for Jurrien, it was too early.
Arsenal hope the issue for Timber is not a serious one.
Potential return date: Saturday December 13, vs Wolves (H)
William Saliba
Saliba has been out since suffering an injury before the 1-1 draw against Chelsea at the end of November.
Arteta said twice last week that Saliba was only a matter of “days” away from a return but he missed the Villa defeat and was not ready to face Club Brugge.
“William is still not available,” said Arteta on Tuesday.
Potential return date: Saturday December 13, vs Wolves (H)
Leandro Trossard
Trossard missed the Club Brugge game with a calf injury that been troubling him in recent weeks.
He initially sustained the issue against Bayern Munich last month and then missed games against Chelsea and Brentford.
Trossard returned as a substitute at Aston Villa when he came on at half-time and then scored, but was then substituted himself late on.
Arteta said ahead of the Club Brugge game: “Leo again picked up another knock in an area where he had the issue, and I don't expect that it's going to be long, but unfortunately, he cannot be here.”
Potential return date: Unknown
Gabriel
Arsenal have been without Gabriel since he suffered adductor while playing for Brazil a month ago.
There were initial fears that Gabriel could be out until January and Arteta has rued the blow of losing “the leader of our backline”.
Arteta’s latest update on Gabriel came at the start of the month when he said: “Big Gabi is doing very well, but that's weeks as well.”
Potential return date: Late December/January
Cristhian Mosquera
Mosquera has been ruled out until next year with what Arteta has described as a “complicated” ankle injury.
Arteta has not put an exact timeframe on his return but it has been reported that Arsenal fear Mosquera could miss six to eight weeks.
“He's going to be out for weeks unfortunately, it's much more than what we expected,” Arteta said. “But the player was feeling it, so he's going to be out for weeks.”
Potential return date: Unknown
Max Dowman
Dowman faces two months out after sustaining ankle ligament damage.
The 15-year-old suffered the injury during a behind-closed-doors friendly against Manchester United last weekend.
Dowman is not expected to require surgery but Arsenal have confirmed he has been taken out of their Champions League squad and replaced with Gabriel Jesus.
Arteta said: “With Max, unfortunately, he picked up an injury last weekend, and he had to come off, so we did some scans and he is going to be out for weeks.”
Potential return date: February
Kai Havertz
Havertz is still not ready to return after suffering a setback in his recovery from his knee injury.
In his latest update on Havertz at the start of the month, Arteta said: “Matter of weeks. Let’s see how it evolves in the next few weeks.”
Potential return date: Late December/January