Bukayo Saka and Jurrien Timber were both absent from Arsenal’s final training session ahead of their European match on Tuesday night, which is a significant setback for Mikel Arteta, who has already been dealing with several injuries this season.
Arsenal are preparing to face Shakhtar Donetsk in the UEFA Champions League, hoping to bounce back after their defeat to Bournemouth on Saturday. With a Liverpool match looming, Monday’s open training session gave some clues as to which players might be available.
Saka, who was a late decision to miss the Cherries game, was not risked by Arteta. Before the afternoon training, Arteta gave an update on both Saka and Martin Odegaard.
“They are closer and both progressing really well. Martin is still not fit,” Arteta told reporters. “With Bukayo, let’s see how he feels today and in the training session that we have later on.”
Timber, dealing with a muscular issue that has kept him out of games on either side of the international break, appeared to be a possible option. Arteta, similar to the situation with Saka, emphasized that Timber’s availability would depend on how he performed in training.
“I think he’s going to be close,” Arteta said. “Obviously, we have to see how he deals with training with the whole group because he hasn’t done that yet, but he will be pretty close hopefully.”
With both players unavailable, Arteta now faces a difficult decision on how to manage their absences. The upcoming Liverpool game in five days, where William Saliba will be suspended, would benefit from Timber’s presence.
Starting Timber against Shakhtar might have been too risky, except perhaps in the final stages of the game. Timber continues to struggle with load-bearing issues following his recovery from a serious knee injury that sidelined him for nearly all of last season.
