Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has three major fitness concerns heading into the weekend preseason friendly against Athletic Club. In addition to Brazilian striker Gabriel Jesus (ACL) remaining sidelined as a longer-term injury absentee, Arteta is sweating on the fitness of Kai Havertz, Leandro Trossard and Riccardo Calafiori ahead of the regular season opener at Manchester United.
“Yesterday in training he (Havertz) felt something and this morning he wasn’t quite right,” Arteta, after the loss to Villarreal, in the first of the two “Emirates Cup” clashes.
Emirates Cup FYIs
Arsenal FC vs Athletic Club
Arsenal Previews: Starting XI Prediction Team News
Kickoff time: 5pm GMT, Wednesday Aug 9
Location: Emirates Stadium, London, UK
Gunners Team News
Arteta continued: “So we decided to rest him. I think it’s going to be a matter of a couple of days, hopefully at the weekend, if everything goes to plan, I think he will be fit.
The three that we lost during the tour, it was Big Gabi, Leo and Ricky, and for Saturday I think both of them (Calafiori and Trossard) have a chance if everything in the next few days evolves in the way it has been evolving in the last few days.”
There was better news, in regards to Gabriel Magalhaes and Jurrien Timber, however. Both defenders will be looking to get in the first team on the weekend, after finally making their first appearances of the preseason during midweek, via off-the-bench roles.
Sorry we won’t have more specific information for you on the details of the specific injuries to these players. Arteta is notoriously stealth and coy, when it comes to disclosing such things.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
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