Riccardo Calafiori is unavailable, while Bukayo Saka will be in contention to feature when Arsenal take on Fulham at the Emirates on Tuesday.
Arsenal return to Premier League action as Mikel Arteta hopes to reduce the gap to Liverpool by nine points albeit temporarily. There are some positive updates as well as some concerning ones from the Gunners camp, and the manager will want to end his three-game winless run against fellow London club Fulham.
During his pre-match press conference, Arteta was asked about a lot of things, with Bukayo Saka’s progress the chief topic of discussions as well as the appointment of Andrea Berta as the new sporting director. He also provided an update on the issues with Riccardo Calafiori and Jurrien Timber.
Saka has resumed full training, which is a massive boost for Arsenal especially ahead of their Champions League game against Real Madrid on the horizon. When asked about his chances to feature against Fulham, Arteta simply said he’s ‘ready to go’, thus implying the winger might be ready to start.
Arteta further said, “Well, all the careful things he’s already done. So now it’s about putting him in the grass in the right moments. But he’s pushing because he really wants it. We have respected the timeframe, we have done everything and we have had to hold him back even. So he’s ready to go.”
Meanwhile, Calafiori suffered another knee injury playing for Italy, while Jurrien Timber missed both games for the Netherlands with an illness. The latter was pictured in training pictures, and his availability was later confirmed by Arteta, who also revealed the Italian could miss a few weeks of action.
On Calafiori and Timber, Arteta said, “Riccardo, unfortunately, picked up an injury again with the national team. It was really unfortunate the way it happened, but 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. Jurrien was ill for a long period, quite badly. He’s felt much better in the last few days, so he’s available.”
On the team selection, Arteta may not make too many alterations to his lineup for the Fulham clash to keep the continuity with this team. With Timber fit again, the Dutchman could start ahead of Ben White with the latter still not deemed completely sharp and fit.
William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes will continue in the central spots, while the in-form Myles Lewis-Skelly should be preferred at left-back ahead of the other available options in the position. Thomas Partey, Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice should continue their partnership in that Arsenal midfield.
Even though Saka has resumed training, Arteta will stay cautious, as he would ideally want him fit and firing for the Real Madrid ties. Hence, there is a big possibility for the winger to get some minutes off the bench in this game. So, Ethan Nwaneri, Mikel Merino, and Gabriel Martinelli are likely to feature in the front three.
Predicted Arsneal XI: Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly; Odegaard, Partey, Rice; Nwaneri, Merino, Martinelli