Arteta vague on team news ahead of Brighton trip

Mikel Arteta insisted his squad are “all good” ahead of tomorrow’s trip to Brighton, although his reluctance to provide updates on specific players left plenty of room for reading between the lines.

Cristhian Mosquera, Ben White, Jurrien Timber and Piero Hincapie were all missing from the squad that beat Ipswich in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night and, for all Arteta’s public optimism, it seems unlikely that all four will be available on the south coast.

“They are all good,” the boss said on Friday.

“We have another training session this afternoon, so very positive about everybody.”

Pressed specifically on Timber, Mosquera and Hincapie, he remained vague:

“We have another session, they are all willing to be part of it to try to make sure they are fit.”

White, who has not been selected by Thomas Tuchel for the upcoming international break, limped off at the Stadium of Light last Saturday. He was replaced by Timber, who had not featured in the league since 14 March because of a groin problem.

That change was driven by necessity and, after a frenetic second half for the Dutchman, the decision was taken not to load him further in midweek. Sensible enough, although it did leave Martin Zubimendi filling in at right-back, with Mosquera currently nursing a hamstring issue.

Hincapie, meanwhile, had been pencilled in to deputise for the rested Riccardo Calafiori. His conspicuous absence meant Myles Lewis-Skelly was handed the job instead.

It was suggested that the former Bayer Leverkusen defender had picked up a knock, although rumours have since circulated that the problem may be more serious. Arteta’s comments did little to clear that up, so we’ll just have to wait and see.

The post Arteta vague on team news ahead of Brighton trip appeared first on Arseblog News - the Arsenal news site.