Neither Jurrien Timber nor Takehiro Tomiyasu were included in the Arsenal squad that took on Lyon this afternoon.
Arsenal won the Emirates Cup with a comfortable 2-0 win over Lyon at the Emirates Stadium.
Whilst the result in this match was not of any great importance, Mikel Arteta will have been pleased with his side’s performance.
Riccardo Calafiori showed quality on his Arsenal debut, and the manager was also able to get vital minutes into the legs of many of his key players. On top of that, Arteta also took the opportunity to hand another pre-season runout to the promising Hale End academy duo, Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly.
Perhaps most importantly, the Gunners look to have come through this game without any fresh injury worries. However, Jurrien Timber and Takehiro Tomiyasu remain sidelined.
Arsenal injury update on Jurrien Timber and Takehiro Tomiyasu
Speaking after the win over Lyon, as reported by journalist James Benge on X, Arteta stated that Timber’s foot injury, that kept him out of this clash, is “fine.” The Dutchman is expected to be back in training in the coming days.
However, Tomiyasu’s issue is more serious. The Spanish coach said the Japan international is not expected to return to action until “weeks from now.”
Unfortunately, neither player is a stranger to injuries. Timber spent almost the entirety of last season on the treatment table after picking up a serious knee injury on the opening day of the Premier League campaign.
Given the scale of the injury he faced last season, it was always likely that the former Ajax man would encounter a few mini setbacks on his way to full fitness.
Meanwhile, Tomiyasu has been plagued by injury issues since his arrival at the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal need signs of improvement from Tomiyasu
There is no doubting that Tomiyasu is a quality defender. When fit and firing on all cylinders, his consistency and versatility make him extremely useful to Arteta. However, those periods of fitness occur all too rarely.
Some Arsenal fans are ready to give up on Tomiyasu. However, given he is now out of action once again, it would be all but impossible to move him on in the current summer transfer window.
Instead, the Gunners will just have to hope that he can get fit again as quickly as possible and stay that way.
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