Arsenal have struggled for form in recent weeks and have seen their hopes of winning the Premier League title take a hit, with injuries being one of the reasons behind their lack of points.
Mikel Arteta and his team have the chance to get the show back on the road when they host Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Saturday lunchtime, a game the Gunners are the overwhelming favourites to win. Despite that, they have been victorious in just one of their last five league games, losing to Fulham, West Ham and Aston Villa.
In the midst of that, they were also knocked out of the FA Cup by Liverpool despite creating an abundance of clear chances to score. The dip in form that has seen Arsenal drop to fourth in the Premier League cannot be attributed just to injuries, but there are players Arteta would love to have back at his disposal against Palace. As well as those sidelined by injuries, Mohamed Elneny and Takehiro Tomiyasu are on international duty.
In his pre-match press conference, Arteta kept his cards close to his chest when it came to injury news, saying: “We still have a few unfortunately on that list that we haven’t managed to get back yet. Hopefully they’re much better. I’m not gonna tell you exactly how everyone is individually. We are touch and go with a few.”
Here are the players Arteta is expecting to have on the sidelines when Arsenal host the Eagles on Saturday.
The longest-term absentee at Arsenal right now is Dutch defender Jurrien Timber. Hailed as a brilliant signing in the summer, he managed just one game before getting an anterior cruciate ligament injury.
The former Ajax star has been out for effectively the entire season so far but has been seen on a training pitch in Dubai, suggesting he could still have a role to play for the Gunners in the 2023/24 campaign. It would be a huge boost to Arsenal’s defence if they can bring a player like Timber back in for the final few months of the season.
Arteta confirmed before the Palace game he does expect Timber to have an impact this season, revealing: “There is a possibility [that he will be back this season] but at the moment he’s still very far from competing. Are we hopeful that he could have a realistic impact before the end of the season? At the moment it looks like that.”
Another player Arsenal have had to do without for a very long time, the presence of Thomas Partey…
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