Latest Arsenal injury news for Chelsea clash as Mikel Arteta faces nervous wait over four players
MIkel Arteta faces a nervous wait over the fitness of his Arsenal players
Mikel Arteta faces a nervous wait over a number of players ahead of Arsenal's clash against Chelsea on Sunday. The Premier League champions face their biggest test of the season so far as they welcome Xabi Alonso's challengers to Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners have managed to improve their squad depth over the summer following a campaign that saw them win domestic silverware and reach the Champions League final. Now, Arteta will want to have as close to a fit team as possible against their London rivals.
Cristhian Mosquera, Bruno Guimaraes and Jurrien Timber are all in a race to convince Arteta and the medical staff that they are worth a place in the team on Sunday. Mosquera was taken off as a precaution during Arsenal's win over Aston Villa last time out and was set to be assessed in the club's final preparations.
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Guimaraes was absent from training during the week and is set for a similar assessment. Speaking in his press conference, Arteta was hopeful about the Brazilian's condition.
"Yeah, he had a knock against Villa in the previous game and he's been assessed," Arteta said. "Hopefully tomorrow he will be okay for training."
Long-term absentee Timber also stands a chance of being included in Arsenal's squad. The Dutch defender was ruled out at the end of last season due to a groin injury and subsequently missed the World Cup.
Jurrien Timber, Noni Madueke, Eberechi Eze and Gabriel Magalhaes are all in contention for Arsenal against Chelsea(Image: Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
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"He's in really good condition at the moment," Arteta said. "As I said, he's been now a few weeks on the pitch and he's been training with us now, so he's in a good place."
"We'll decide again tomorrow after training," the former Everton star added.
There will also be a wait to discover Declan Rice's condition. The England star appeared to be limping following his substitution against Villa.
He was replaced with five minutes to go against Villa, replaced by Martin Zubimendi. Rice has trained this week however and any concern was not highlighted during Arteta's press conference.
Declan Rice will hopefully be fit to start for Arsenal against Chelsea
Arsenal are also set to be without William Saliba, despite the Frenchman being named in Arsenal's Champions League squad. The centre-back saw a persistent back issue come to the fore during Les Bleus' World Cup campaign and still has an uncertain timeline for his recovery.
Arteta believes his progress has been positive so far. "Yes, we don't really know the amount of weeks he's going to be out because it's about a healing process in the beginning, it's a bit different," he said.
"We know that we have to respect certain timings. The progression has been really positive in the last few weeks, but we need to wait and see how that one reaction will start to put a lot into it."
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