Double injury worry, Rice pain - Three things spotted in Arsenal training before Man United

Mikel Arteta has faced another decisive week on the Arsenal training ground as the 2023/24 season nears its conclusion. With two games left on their schedule, the Gunners still have so much to play for with the Premier League title battle against Manchester City likely to be decided on the final day.

Pep Guardiola's side kick off the weekend's fixtures when they visit Craven Cottage to take on Fulham with Arsenal closing out the action just over 24 hours later against Manchester United at Old Trafford. The Gunners have been fortunate with regard to injuries in recent weeks with just Jurrien Timber absent, however that may change this Sunday.

Takehiro Tomiyasu missed a session earlier in the week and while Bukayo Saka was present, he had heavy strapping on his leg. Before the clash against Manchester United, Arteta was asked specifically about the duo with his answer understandably coy.

"A few doubts over the names [Saka and Tomiyasu] that you discussed yes," he said in a press conference. "We can resolve with another training session. So we’ll have to see." With that said, football.london has taken a look at the latest set of pictures from the action at the Sobha Realty Training Centre.

Double injury worry

Following on from the existing concerns surrounding Saka and Tomiyasu, Arsenal supporters would not have seen their worries alleviated on Friday.

Arteta's update was vague as expected and the duo were also absent from the 20 images uploaded to Arsenal's official website before the clash against Man United. However, it must be mentioned that club's often leave the injury doubts out of training pictures in order to not give opponents an advantage.

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Rice pain

Arteta will be desperately hoping no more key players head into Sunday's fixture as injury doubts with Declan Rice perhaps the one player he would struggle to replace.

The England international has been a constant since joining from West Ham last summer and he has thus started 35 out of a possible 36 Premier League games. As such, one sight in a recent training session would have been a major worry.

As Rice dribbled away with the ball, a grimace on his face was very clear however as it is a still image, the severity of his pain is unknown. A best-case scenario would be that the cameras have just captured him at the peak of being told a decision hasn't gone his way.

Odegaard's early shower

In the beaming sun, the Arsenal players will have undoubtedly needed to stay refreshed and hydrated during Friday's session.

Any worries over club captain Martin Odegaard becoming too hot were eradicated as he was pictured deep in the sprinklers at London Colney enjoying an early shower.