Arsenal take on Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League after their win over Club Brugge in the Champions League.
The Gunners didn’t have to get out of second gear in Belgium but still managed to pick up a comfortable 3-0 win against Brugge.
That was impressive, especially considering that they were without key stars like William Saliba, Declan Rice and Jurrien Timber, along with the other longer-term absentees.
Now, ahead of the clash against Wolves on Saturday night, Mikel Arteta has shed some light on those issues.
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Mikel Arteta shares Arsenal injury update regarding Declan Rice, William Saliba and others ahead of Arsenal vs Wolves
Arsenal have had so many injuries already this season.
Among the players in the Gunners’ 25-man first-team squad, 17 have missed at least one game due to a fitness issue, which is a terrible record.
The latest players to be sidelined were Rice, Timber and Leandro Trossard.
The former missed the Champions League game against Club Brugge due to illness, while the Dutchman failed to recover from a knock. Trossard also couldn’t overcome the injury he picked up against Villa.
Saliba missed the game too, which was his fourth in a row, even though his recovery time frame was described as a matter of days.
In his press conference ahead of the game against Wolves, Arteta was quizzed about his side’s injuries.
He said about Saliba: “We have to wait and see. Yesterday we didn’t train. He hasn’t trained with us yet. We have an extra day. We train this afternoon. Let’s see if he can be available for that. It remains the same, a matter of days. For the Everton game, I think he will be fit. For tomorrow, I don’t know.”
On Rice, Arteta added: “Let’s see how he is today. Obviously, he was ill. That’s an illness, so normally, in a few days, it gets resolved, but we have to wait and see how far he can push.”
About Timber, he said: “Again, it depends on how he feels today. It was a knock that he picked up, and he wasn’t feeling comfortable. Again, I think it’s a matter of days, but whether it’s tomorrow or not, we will see.”
Finally, speaking about Trossard, the Arsenal manager said: “Another one that is a matter of days! Sounds boring, but it’s the reality, so we don’t know, and, if he is available, for how long?”
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Arsenal need to find a solution to their injury problems
The fact that Arsenal are on top of the Premier League and Champions League tables despite all of their injury issues is simply remarkable.
Most other sides in the world would’ve collapsed by now.
Arteta should be really proud of his players, but he will be the first one to realise that this is not sustainable for the whole season.
We don’t know how, but the Arsenal manager and medical staff have to get to the bottom of their injury issues.
If it’s not fixed soon, the Gunners’ dream of lifting silverware at the end of the season could come to an end.
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