Mikel Arteta has been dealt another blow in his pursuit of the Premier League title, with a key Arsenal star set to miss the rest of this year through injury.
Arsenal injury list as concerns mount up for Arteta
The north Londoners currently have a plethora of first team players on the treatment table, and this has been a reoccurring theme of their early season.
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So far, club captain Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Riccardo Calafiori, Mikel Merino, Gabriel Jesus, Jurrien Timber, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Kieran Tierney are just some of the names who’ve been injured at some point, dealing Arteta real selection headaches in what is a crucial campaign for the Spaniard.
Arsenal are chasing their first domestic crown in over two decades, but the Gunners have been forced to cope without a plethora of key options on a regular basis in these opening months.
Nottingham Forest (home)
November 23
West Ham United (away)
November 30
Man United (home)
December 4
Fulham (away)
December 8
Everton (home)
December 14
Right now, summer signing and Italy international Calafiori is sidelined with a knee injury, and has been since Arsenal’s 1-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League last month.
Tomiyasu has been particularly unlucky, playing just six minutes all season due to a serious knee problem of his own, while Tierney is apparently close to returning from a hamstring injury which has kept him on the sidelines since Euro 2024.
Arteta’s arguable two biggest misses, Saka and Rice, were forced to withdraw from England’s squad for their upcoming UEFA Nations League matches against Greece and the Republic of Ireland.
It is unclear right now whether they will be fit and available right after the international break, but Arteta is “praying” for the star duo to be fit and ready for their first game back at home to Nottingham Forest on November 26.
“What I’m praying for is that after the international break we have the team fully physically equipped,” said Arteta on Rice and Saka. “That they are available and that they are fit, because it’s been a nightmare for eight weeks.”
Amid this torrid run of luck, Arteta has now been dealt yet another major concern in the form of Ben White.
Ben White out for the rest of this year after Arsenal surgery
The £150,000-per-week right-back, according to the national press, has undergone surgery on his knee.
White was nursing a problem which had been affecting him for quite a while, so the club used this international break as an opportunity to rectify it, but his lay-off time really doesn’t spell good news.
The Mirror and reliable journalist John Cross report that White is expected to be sidelined for the rest of this year at Arsenal, meaning Arteta will be without the star defender for crucial games against Forest, West Ham, Man United, Sporting Lisbon and Monaco in the Champions League.
His absence will be a very sore one to take, as Arsenal also attempt to find their best form again and keep their title hopes alive.