Ben White, Cristhian Mosquera and Piero Hincapie are back in training at London Colney. The Arsenal trio return ahead of the Premier League’s resumption next weekend. All three had been sidelined and missed out on international duty for their countries.
Their return gives Mikel Arteta a timely boost. Arsenal host Leeds at the Emirates Stadium soon after the international break ends. Arsenal went into the international break after suffering a heavy 3-0 defeat at Brighton.
William Saliba still absent from the group
William Saliba remains the one defensive absence. Arteta confirmed the centre-back is still working his way back from injury. He is not yet part of first-team training.
“He is in rest mode at the moment,” Arteta said on Saliba’s recovery, according to the original report.
Arteta did not put a confirmed date on the Frenchman’s return.
“He had to do almost nothing, an aggravated injury, so it’s going to take some time to heal. We know that,” he said.
Arsenal need to learn from Brighton defeat
Arteta did not shy away from the Brighton result.
“We need to feel the pain,” he said.
He then placed the loss in a wider context for his squad.
“Today we need to take this lesson very, very seriously because it’s going to happen. I think we need to look at it in isolation first and get the learnings and then we can put it into the overall picture,” Arteta said.
The timing of this Arsenal trio return matters. The club remains the reigning Premier League champions. They have won each of their opening six matches across all competitions this season, a run the Brighton result briefly interrupted. White, Mosquera and Hincapie now add defensive options while Saliba continues his recovery. Amid the returns and injury problems, Arteta has given no hint of his selection plans for Leeds.
Arsenal set to face Leeds after international break
Arsenal welcome Leeds in the early kick-off on Saturday, October 10. It is the first of nine fixtures in 27 days for Arsenal. That schedule leaves little time to ease players back in gradually, but Arteta will be happy to welcome the Arsenal trio early to prepare for a busy month ahead.
For now, his clearest message is simple. The Brighton lesson needs to be absorbed before the games come thick and fast.
Comments.
Loading comments…