Mikel Arteta Hopeful Arsenal Will Play Well Against Shakhtar Despite Player Injuries

Posted by: Eninu William in International Football October 22, 2024

Despite four players overcoming fitness issues to play against Bournemouth, Mikel Arteta is still dealing with a lot of Arsenal injury concerns ahead of the Champions League matchup against Shakhtar Donetsk.

Luckily for him, Ben White, Kai Havertz and Thomas Partey started the match against Bournemouth. This is despite both having left international service early.

William Saliba was sent off in the first half of this game. The Gunners nevertheless lost for the first time this season despite some important players playing.

Brazilian Gabriel Martinelli who suffered a calf injury while playing for his national team came off the bench in this game.

Despite Arteta’s upbeat statement prior to the loss at Vitality Stadium, Bukayo Saka and Jurrien Timber were out due to injuries.

Regarding Saka, he stated, “It’s not a serious injury, and he’s evolving well.” Defender Zinchenko was on the bench while White started the game but Timber was left off the roster.

“They are closer and both are progressing really well. Martin is still not fit,” Arteta told reporters. “With Bukayo, let’s see how he feels today and in the training session that we have later on.”

Given that they have a crucial match against Liverpool this Saturday, it would be irresponsible of Arteta to risk either player missing training just over 24 hours before their next match. After seemingly suffering an injury setback, Takehiro Tomiyasu was also not present against Bournemouth.

Additionally, Kieran Tierney is currently recuperating from a hamstring injury sustained while representing Scotland at Euro 2024. Saliba will serve his one-match Premier League suspension.

This means Arteta will be without five players in the crunch Premier League clash on the weekend.

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