Latest Arsenal injury news as Bukayo Saka concern emerges with Jurrien Timber stance
Mikel Arteta will hope to have Bukayo Saka available for when Arsenal face Manchester United this weekend.
The Gunners travel to Old Trafford in their penultimate Premier League clash of the season. Arsenal are currently top of the league and one point clear of second-placed Manchester City with a game in hand.
Arsenal could find themselves in second place in the standings by the time they kick off against Man United, with City facing Fulham 24 hours earlier on Saturday. As a result, victory at Old Trafford could be vital to the Gunners' chances of winning the league title.
Saka emerged as a potential fitness concern for Arsenal last week after suffering a cut on his shin during the 3-0 win over Bournemouth. Saka was on the receiving end of a pair of tackles from Lewis Cook and Ryan Christie and was later seen with a strapping on his leg during training.
Arteta is likely to provide an update on Saka's fitness when he speaks to the media this week. After the win over Bournemouth, the Arsenal boss was asked about the severity of the tackles that were made on Saka.
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"The honest answer is I haven't seen any of the incidents because I knew you were going to ask me," Arteta said in his post-match press conference last week.
"I did it on purpose. The analysts said do you want to watch it and I said no because then I can tell the truth.
"I haven't seen them so I cannot comment or have an impression. The one on David, the foul, I cannot see because it's too far. The one on Bukayo, is it on purpose or not? I don't know so difficult for me to judge."
Takehiro Tomiyasu is also a doubt for Arsenal after he was not spotted in training on Tuesday. Arteta and the club are yet to provide an update, with Tomiyasu most recently playing the full 90 minutes in last weekend's win over Bournemouth.
One player who could return to the Arsenal squad is Jurrien Timber. The defender, who was signed from Ajax last summer, has been recovering from an ACL injury he sustained in the early weeks of the campaign.
Timber has only made two appearances for Arsenal since his arrival, but has been stepping up his return by featuring for the club's Under-21s in recent weeks. Arteta hinted last week that the versatile defender could make his long-awaited return in the final matches of the season.
"Yes, everybody is fit and available so now it's the headache to make the right selection," Arteta told reporters last week. "We won’t know that until we throw him [Timber] in there. It’s tricky because there are only three games to go and he has missed eight months of football.
"He’s played only 115 minutes of football with the Under-21s, it’s a question that can only be resolved by throwing him on the pitch and we will see what happens, we have to try to nail that decision when [we take it]."