Amid the good news of Thomas Partey returning for Arsenal this weekend, Mikel Arteta has also provided news of an injury set-back.
Arsenal travel to Sheffield United on Monday with a strong squad, buoyed by the fitness of Gabriel Jesus too.
Jesus is thought to be ready to start the game, a selection dilemma that has rarely landed Arteta’s way this season.
And with Thomas Partey also now available, Arsenal will have a strong bench one way or another.
Of course, with the ‘business end’ of the season approaching, these boosts will be incredibly welcome.
Arsenal’s second leg against Porto is scheduled for March 12, and Arteta would love to have a full complement of players available.
And to that end, it has felt as if Takehiro Tomiyasu has been close to a return for some games now, only to not be involved.
And when speaking at his press conference today, Arteta confirmed that the Arsenal defender has suffered something of an injury set-back.
Mikel Arteta says Arsenal defender Takehiro Tomiyasu struggled during recovery from recent injury
Arteta, who was speaking via journalist Ryan Taylor who shared his words on X, said Arsenal didn’t want to take a risk with the defender’s injury.
The manager said: “He had an injury in the last game for Japan. He was out.
“We expected it to be a little bit shorter but he struggled in the recovery so we extended that period to be more certain.
“We didn’t want to risk losing him for months.”
And when asked about Tomiyasu’s availability ahead of Monday’s game, Arteta said it was a possibility, but time will tell.
Of course, Arsenal fans will surely be very pleased with this precaution Arteta is showing with the injury, given how important Tomiyasu could be in the coming months.
The £20m-defender will be needed at left-back once again to dovetail with Oleksandr Zinchenko – even if Jakub Kiwior is doing a stellar job right now.
All that being said, one former Arsenal player has now been sharing what Martin Odegaard is really like as a captain.
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