Injury updates for Arsenal as Mikel Arteta gets ready to welcome back his main players before travelling to Sheffield United
Although Mikel Arteta hasn’t had an issue on the pitch in the previous six weeks, his injury issues with Arsenal are starting to clear up. With 25 goals in just five league games, the Spanish team has swept all before them. This has not only cemented their place in the title picture but also allowed them to make a timely move to alter the goal differential picture.
It is even more amazing that Arteta has accomplished this without five players who most people would have thought were essential to the team. The return of key players could not come at a better moment as he now has to weigh hopes for a Champions League comeback against Porto against a real three-horse race for the championship.
Arsenal is currently in the greatest form they have been in a while, in contrast to Liverpool, who are both literally and figuratively crippled by issues with senior players in their squad. In a major boost, every player is currently working out at the Sobha Realty facility in north London.
They have had plenty of time to heal as well, having not played since last Saturday. They still have the entire weekend ahead of them before they visit Sheffield United on Monday night. This process has been facilitated by the absence of FA Cup activity, as all of their competitors played on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The match against Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium has been postponed, resulting in yet another modification to the schedule just three weeks before the March international break. The team now appears to be peaking at the perfect time, even though there will still be enough to do in the latter part of the season.
The focus is now on defeating Sheffield United, a team that is headed for relegation. The good news for Arteta doesn’t stop there: his team should be very formidable.
Thomas Partey will likely make his matchday squad comeback for the first time since October 8. “Thomas completed a session before the most recent game, and he has since completed two or three sessions in a row,” Arteta informed reporters on Thursday. “He should be part of the squad on Monday.”
Gabriel Jesus, meanwhile, might start the match for the first time since defeating Nottingham Forest 2-1 at the end of January. “He’s reasonably fit,” Arteta said. “What’s different is how long he will last. In light of our performance against Newcastle, we were unwilling to take any chances. He’s a huge player for us, so we need him to be healthy, and we want to make sure we load him properly.
Jesus will have an extra nine days to prepare after not being deployed as a substitute in last weekend’s 4-1 victory against Newcastle. It is anticipated that his injuries, which prevented him from playing in four games, are behind him.
In addition, Jurrien Timber has made significant progress towards making just his second Arsenal appearance. This week, following months of slow recovery from the knee ligament injury that derailed his first term in England, he returned to squad training.
However, the Dutchman is not being hurried back. “Jurrien is still not close enough to be part of the squad on Monday,” Arteta said. Timber’s absence might be made up for by the return of Takehiro Tomiyasu or Oleksandr Zinchenko.
“It’s possible [they are involved] but we’ll have to wait and see,” Arteta remarked. Particularly during the final two Saturday and Sunday sessions. They might be available on Monday if that is the case.”
The Gunners are now in a good position to put together a run that might define the season.
