Mikel Arteta Reveals Injury Latest on Saka, Saliba and White

On September 13, Arsenal will face Nottingham Forest at the Emirates Stadium in their first fixture after the international break. The Gunners will be eager to return to winning ways after losing 1-0 to Liverpool. Mikel Arteta’s squad has endured some early-season injury woes, and the Gunners boss has revealed the latest Arsenal injury news ahead of the return of Premier League action.

On September 12, Arteta appeared at the Sobha Realty Training Centre and revealed the latest injury news regarding Bukayo Saka, William Saliba, and others ahead of their Premier League fixture against Nottingham Forest.

“Bukayo’s out, still out and he’s trying to get back as quick as possible, but we need to respect that process,” the Gunners boss said on Friday afternoon.

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“He’s evolving really well, with very specific work at the moment, and the moment we increase that load, let’s see how he reacts.”

Arteta also had positive news regarding the availability of William Saliba and Ben White: “Willy trained today so we’ll have a decision to make whether we play him or not, very good news. The rest (trained) as usual, and Ben White as well, Ben’s OK.”

Availability of Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus

Arteta also fielded questions regarding Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus: “He’s looking really good, he’s walking freely,” said Arteta regarding Havertz.

“He’s starting to load the knee and to do some bits. As I said before, I think we’re taking it from weeks to months. But knowing Kai, I cannot give you any time scale because I know what he’s going to try to do, same with Gabi Jesus. So I think he’s in a good moment.

“It was a very tough decision for him to go and have that procedure done. But I think it was necessary and it was the right decision from the medical team to persuade him to do that.”

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Explaining the decision to leave Jesus out of his Champions League squad: “He had a major surgery that it was going to take him many, many months. So, after discussing with the medical staff and understanding the schedule that we had and when we thought that he could be available, that it would be between December and January, we decided to make the call like we’ve done it in the past with other players.

“Hopefully we did it wrong and he comes back earlier. But at the moment, the provision was very clear,” said Arteta.