Mikel Arteta has minimal clear injury problems for the Premier League clash against Leeds United with only five players expected to miss out
09:52, 31 Jan 2026
Mikel Arteta could have been handed a fresh Arsenal injury worry before Leeds United
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Mikel Arteta could have been handed a fresh Arsenal injury worry before Leeds United(Image: (Photo by Image Photo Agency/Getty Images))
Arsenal and Leeds United have both seen injury problems improve in recent weeks ahead of their Premier League clash this evening. Jurrien Timber and William Saliba are set to join Riccardo Calafiori as returning stars, while Anton Stach and Jayden Bogle are back for the Whites.
There are still some fitness issues for Daniel Farke and Mikel Arteta to think about, with the latter potentially handed a new concern from Friday's training session. Of the 36 photos uploaded, Cristhian Mosquera is not in any of them, with the defender only returning earlier this month.
Arteta confirmed no issues were suffered in the Champions League on Wednesday – a game Mosquera played the entirety of – and therefore it could just mean his load is being managed. However, an alternative scenario is that he has suffered a problem with Arteta's press conference coming before his side's training session on Friday.
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The summer signing is still likely to be on the bench against Leeds, but it is no longer a guarantee. Max Dowman is one Gunners star set to be unavailable as he continues recovering from an ankle injury.
On Friday, Arteta said of the teenager: "Obviously he's growing, and we need to be very careful and a little bit more protective.
"He has a different schedule as well because he needs to go to schools and that, so we need to respect a lot of things throughout that process, but I think he's quite close.
"He's on the pitch now, he's doing well, and hopefully we're going to be able to see him soon." With Piero Hincapie, Riccardo Calafiori and Kai Havertz all featuring earlier this week, Dowman looks to be the only player from the visitors ruled out.
It is a different story at Elland Road, however, even with Farke able to issue a number of positive updates in his press conference on Thursday. Gabriel Gudmundsson is pushing to make a swift return from a groin injury but looks set to miss the visit of Arsenal.
Farke said: "Gabi has progressed so much better than expected. He was not in team training yet, so far, but we have obviously two more days. And yeah, perhaps, even a little chance that he makes this game."
Lukas Nmecha is another facing a similar return timeframe after feeling a problem ahead of the 1-1 draw against Everton.
Leeds United boss Daniel Farke
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Daniel Farke has issued injury updates on four players before Leeds United vs Arsenal(Image: Getty Images)
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The Leeds boss stated: "Lukas reported during the warm-up at Everton, some problems with the hamstring. This was also the reason I didn't bring him on.
"It is not a major thing - we have assessed him. He will also definitely miss the Arsenal game, but we hope that we have him back for Nottingham... there's probably a good chance."
Farke gave positive updates on the respective recoveries of Jaka Bijol and Daniel James, with the latter back in training, but neither will be available for selection on Saturday.