Arsenal defender Gabriel is getting closer to a return from his groin injury that he suffered in November.
The Gunners managed to scrape past 20th-placed Wolves on Saturday to keep their lead at the top of the table. Arsenal sit two points ahead of Man City, who were impressive in a 3-0 win against Crystal Palace on Sunday.
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Mikel Arteta has had a lot of injury problems recently, with perhaps the biggest absentee being Gabriel, who has been out since the November international break. He is nearing a return, but is expected to return around Christmas.
Expected return date – Saturday 27 December vs Brighton
Ben White
Defender Ben White suffered a hamstring injury during the Wolves game, and is currently being assessed by the Arsenal training staff ahead of their next game against Everton on Saturday. It doesn’t appear to be a major issue, but there’s no extra news on his return as of yet.
Mikel Arteta said after the game: “It looks like a hamstring [injury], so we don’t know the extent of that, but probably tomorrow or the day after, we’ll know more.”
Expected return date – Saturday 20 December vs Everton
Max Dowman
15-year-old Man Dowman is dealing with an ankle injury that he picked up last weekend, and it could mean that he misses up to two months.
Arteta said: “Max picked up an injury last weekend and had to come off. So he did some scans, and he is going to be out for weeks.”
Early indications look as though Dowman will be out for around two months, with a January or February return looking most likely.
Expected return date – Saturday 31 January vs Leeds United
Kai Havertz
Havertz is getting closer to making a return from his knee injury that he suffered during the first game of the season against Manchester United.
The German international is expected to come back before the end of the month, but it could be a wait until January. Arteta said two weeks ago: “Matter of weeks. Let’s see how it evolves…
“He’s doing really well, he’s doing stuff on the pitch, but I think he needs some time. He was doing everything; he could not go to the next level. We are all desperate to have him.”
Expected return date – Tuesday 30 December vs Aston Villa
Cristhian Mosquera
Centre-back Mosquera suffered an unfortunate ankle injury, which turned out to be worse than initially expected for the Spaniard.
Arteta said last week: “He’s going to be out for weeks. Unfortunately, it’s much more than what we expected. But the player was feeling it, so he’s going to be out for weeks.”
Expected return date – Saturday 3 January vs Bournemouth