Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta stressed the importance of being able “manage the minutes” of his squad in the Premier League title run-in after beating Sheffield United 6-0 on Monday.
But the Spaniard may find his hands tied on that front as the gruelling season begins to take its toll on the Gunners’ squad, two more of whom were forced to come off at Bramall Lane.
The win over United was the first of four games in 12 days for Arsenal before the international break, after which they will face Manchester City in a de facto title eliminator.
i looks at their full list of injuries going into the final three months of the season, including Monday’s casualties.
Gabriel Martinelli
The game against Sheffield United was probably already won after 15 minutes when Gabriel Martinelli got himself on the scoresheet, his sixth Premier League goal of the season and Arsenal’s third on the night.
It definitely was when he was withdrawn after 64 minutes with the lead doubled to six, but it will have concerned the travelling Gunners fans that he needed two physios to help him to the sidelines.
But they might have been relieved to hear afterwards that it was not a muscular injury, but rather a more superficial one.
“He had a slight cut in his foot. We need to wait and see how it is,” said a typically tight-lipped Arteta afterwards.
The Brazilian will have four days to recover before Arsenal host Brentford on Saturday.
Expected return date: TBC
Bukayo Saka
And there was more good news for worried supporters on Bukayo Saka, who did not emerge for the second half.
Saka has been Arsenal’s talisman this season, topping his team’s charts for goals and assists with 13 and eight respectively in the league – his absence for any amount of time would be a significant blow.
However, Arteta revealed on Monday night he “was feeling a bit sick” and was glad it gave him the opportunity to get Fabio Vieira some minutes.
“It was a great opportunity,” added Arteta, suggesting there was little concern for Saka.
Expected return date: 10 March
Takehiro Tomiyasu
Arteta favourite Takehiro Tomiyasu has not played for Arsenal since the last day of 2023, a 2-1 defeat to Fulham.
He has played since, in Japan’s run to the Asia Cup quarter-finals, but sustained a calf injury at the beginning of February that was first feared to have ruled him out for two months.
However just four weeks later he is back in light training and on the verge of a return to the first-team squad.
“He’s very close,” Arteta said on Monday. “He is already doing something on the grass and hopefully we are going to have him with us very soon.”
Expected return date: Late March
Thomas Partey
Midfielder Thomas Partey made his comeback off the bench on Monday night, making his first competitive appearance since a friendly for Ghana in late October.
“Thomas is available now to play a certain amount of minutes and he needs to build that,” Arteta explained.
“It was his first minutes after four months, which is a long time. And like everybody you have to earn the right to play the minutes.”
Expected return date: Back in limited contention
Oleksandr Zinchenko
The rise of Jakub Kiwior has meant Arsenal have not felt the absence of Oleksandr Zinchenko, master of the left-back/central midfield pivot, as keenly as they might have done.
A persistent calf problem has kept him out for a month, but Arteta said last week that the Ukrainian was in contention for a return to the squad against Sheffield United.
His name did not end up featuring anywhere on the team sheet, but expect to see him back among the substitutes on Saturday.
Expected return date: 10 March
Jurrien Timber
Having paid Ajax more than £30m for Jurrien Timber last summer, Arsenal are yet to see a return on investment – although through no fault of their or his own.
The Dutch international made his debut against Manchester City in the Community Shield and featured in the Premier League against Nottingham Forest a week later, during which he suffered an ACL injury that has kept him out ever since.
The 22-year-old is finally back in training but after six months out, his return to the team is expected to be extremely cautious.
Expected return date: April
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