Arsenal have been dealt a damaging blow ahead of their Champions League clash with Athletic Club on Tuesday night.
The Gunners face an Athletic Club side who will be competing in their first game in Europe’s elite competition since 2014.
Thus, it will be a difficult test for Mikel Arteta’s team in Bilbao, playing in an intimidating atmosphere created by a home crowd who will be fired up to take on an Arsenal team with significant Real Sociedad influence.
The likes of Arteta, Martin Zubimendi, Mikel Merino and Martin Odegaard all have close ties to Sociedad, Athletic Club’s fierce rivals.
Ben White absent from Arsenal training before Athletic Club clash
Ben White has been described as ‘excellent’, and thus his continued absence from Arsenal’s team will be keenly felt by Arteta.
The right-back spent a huge portion of last season on the sidelines due to injury and hasn’t featured this term since the opening game against Manchester United.
However, White did return to training ahead of the Nottingham Forest match on the weekend and made the bench for the encounter with the East Midlanders.
This return to the fold proved to be short-lived, with the England international absent from the Gunners’ training session on Monday morning.
According to journalist Alex Howell, White has a minor issue, which is why he wasn’t present at the Sohba Realty training ground.
This absence likely means that he won’t be risked for the trip to the Basque country, meaning Jurrien Timber may have to start once again.
If Arteta wants to rest the Dutchman, it’s possible that he’ll move Cristhian Mosquera to right-back to face the La Liga outfit.
William Saliba was in Arsenal training
While White wasn’t present, there was some positive news for Arsenal fans from Monday’s training session.
William Saliba took part in the session, according to Tom Canton, with the Frenchman expected to be in contention for Tuesday’s Champions League fixture.
The Frenchman sustained an injury against Liverpool before the international break and missed Saturday’s game against Forest.
He’s now in line to make his return against Athletic Club, although Bukayo Saka’s involvement in the clash is less certain.
Saka wasn’t pictured in training, nor was captain Odegaard.
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