Mikel Arteta is facing a number of big Arsenal team selection decisions for Tuesday's Premier League clash against Fulham. While the Gunners may be prioritising the Champions League, Arteta will want to ensure his side maintain their momentum before two games against Real Madrid.
With 15 days having passed since their 1-0 win over Chelsea, plenty has changed at Emirates Stadium. Perhaps the biggest news was confirmation of Andrea Berta's appointment as sporting director, with The Athletic then revealing a strong transfer interest in Sporting CP's Viktor Gyokeres that was starting to develop.
As for updates on players contracted to Arsenal, some major injury blows and boosts have arrived in the last fortnight. Jurrien Timber and Riccardo Calafiori were at the centre of two concerns, with the latter suffering a knee injury in action for Italy. Timber, meanwhile, did not feature in either of the Netherlands' two games due to illness.
Unsurprisingly, Arteta was asked for updates on both in his Monday press conference, with one confirmed out and the other a slight doubt. "Ricardo unfortunately picked up an injury again with the national team. Really unfortunate the way it happened," Arteta admitted.
"It could have been much worse So hopefully it's going to be a matter of weeks. But we'll have to see how that injury evolves. And Jurrien, yeah, he was ill for a long period, quite badly. He's felt much better in the last few days."
Two defensive injury concerns would be far from ideal for Arteta, but a significant return further forward has balanced that out. After over three months out because of a hamstring injury, the Arsenal boss confirmed Bukayo Saka is fit enough to start after providing a positive update on his star player.
"Bukayo is ready to go," he said. "All the careful things are already done. Now it's about putting him in the grass at the right moment. But he's pushing because he really wants to. We have respected the timeline, and we have done everything."
Arteta now seemingly faces two big decisions on the right involving Saka and Timber. With a chaotic schedule on the horizon, he could be extra cautious and keep Gabriel Martinelli in the starting XI and name Saka on the bench while also deploying Ben White ahead of Timber.
However, an alternative is starting Saka but not Timber with White's return behind the former seeing the return of a fruitful partnership that has not been on display since the 1-1 draw against Chelsea back in early November.
White's overlapping runs with Saka cutting inside was a lethal weapon, particularly in transition, for Arsenal with the latter either firing an effort towards goal or White delivering a pinpoint cross into the box. Since returning from injury, the right-back has been managed carefully by Arteta but he will be needed for the run-in.
Similar can be said about Saka with it likely he only plays the first 60 or 70 minutes if Arteta decides to risk him from the off.
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Arsenal Manager Mikel Arteta, Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Jesus with the Arsenal Therapy Dog Win during the Arsenal Men's team group shoot at London Colney on September 18, 2023
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