Arsenal's Key Players Return for Community Shield
Mikel Arteta will have Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka back at his disposal when Arsenal face Manchester City in the Community Shield on Sunday.
The pair have rejoined full training after their post-World Cup breaks, following England’s run to the semi-finals in North America, and are in contention for the season’s traditional curtain-raiser in Cardiff between the Premier League champions and FA Cup holders.
Martin Zubimendi is also available after helping Spain win the tournament and then linking back up with Arsenal this week.
“They will be available,” Arteta said of Rice, Saka and Zubimendi at his pre-City press conference on Friday. “They trained with us today, they will train tomorrow. If they are in the condition we expect them to be, they will be involved.”
Saka had originally been scheduled to return to club duty on Monday. Instead, he and Spain goalkeeper David Raya cut their holidays short and reported back on Saturday, giving Arteta a timely boost before the meeting with Enzo Maresca’s City.
Eberechi Eze, Noni Madueke and Mikel Merino have also checked back in after their post-World Cup breaks and all featured in Wednesday’s pre-season draw with Como, alongside Raya. The picture is less positive with William Saliba, who faces an extended spell out with a long-term back problem. The issue does not require surgery but was aggravated during the World Cup.
Saka spent much of the second half of last season nursing an Achilles problem, while Rice revealed during the World Cup that he had been managing neural pain in his hamstring since Christmas, before also battling a calf issue and illness.
Arteta is convinced the off-season has done its job.
“We haven’t noticed anything,” he said. “They have individual plans. Through the time they had with the national team they’ve been trying to evolve those issues and they have improved.
“In the rest period that they had, they both had specific programmes for themselves. They’ve been doing those and so far what I saw the last two or three days, it was really good.”
One absentee Arteta has to plan around again is Jurrien Timber. The versatile defender is still sidelined by a persistent groin injury that has troubled him since March and kept him out of the World Cup, save for a brief appearance off the bench in May’s Champions League final.
Arteta said earlier this week that the Dutchman was still “weeks away” from a return. That outlook has not dramatically shifted, even if the manager struck a more upbeat tone.
“[He is] progressing really well,” Arteta said when asked for an update on Timber before facing City. “He’s on the pitch, we’re ramping up now certain actions, especially the volume and the load.
“I think he’s on a good trajectory but still a few weeks to go. With Willy [Saliba], it is a more long-term injury.”
Pressed on whether Timber could make it back before next month’s international break, Arteta refused to draw a line in the sand.
“I don’t know. We have to wait and see.
“He needs to start to train with the group in the next week or so hopefully and then see how he progresses from there.
“But obviously it’s been a long-term issue and we want to make sure that every step that we take is the right one. He’s such an important player for us.”
Rice and Saka ready to return, Zubimendi and Raya back in the fold, Saliba and Timber still out: Arsenal head to Cardiff with their core slowly reassembling, but with the reminder that this season’s ambitions may hinge on how carefully they manage the ones they cannot yet afford to lose.
