Arsenal dealt surgery hammer blow ahead of Nottingham Forest clash
Mikel Arteta has revealed Ben White is set to miss several months after the 27-year-old underwent knee surgery and isn't expected to return until deep into the new year.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference, ahead of Saturday's Premier League resumption against Nottingham Forest, the Arsenal manager opened up on what is another set-back for the title hopefuls.
"Ben White is going to be out for months, unfortunately," Arteta said. "He’s had different kinds of struggles. It’s never been the same thing but we had to make a decision.
"It hasn’t really improved in the last few weeks. We know that Ben is going to push every boundary but it got to a point that we had to protect the player and we decided to do the surgery. He agreed with that and obviously that’s going to keep him out for a few months. We have to see how he reacts to the surgery. I don’t expect it to be half a year, but I cannot say how long exactly."
Arteta did receive some positive news with Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice back in training after withdrawing from England dut: "Trossard seems to be OK, he trained this morning (Friday) and is feeling good. We will assess everything with the doctor but he was able to do part of that session so that’s good.
"Bakayo and Declan as well had their first sessions today – partial sessions – so that’s very good as well."
In addition, Riccardo Calafiori is poised for a comeback to the squad having been sidelined for the last five matches due to injury.
Arteta is set to mark his 250th game at the helm of the Gunners as the Reds visit, with Arsenal placed fourth in the Premier League, trailing Liverpool by nine points.
Reflecting on his tenure he said: "I’m extremely grateful, very happy, I’ve enjoyed every minute. I understand how lucky I am to be sitting where I am. I feel huge pride to see what we transmit as a football club, as a team. But it is about winning in the end. You want to win more, you want to win big trophies, and we are on that journey."