Mikel Arteta is hoping to return to the Arsenal team ‘soon.’

The captain has been out of action since he picked up an ankle injury against Borussia Dortmund in November and while he made a return for the u21’s against Stoke earlier in April, a small setback has delayed his return to the side but he hopes to be back in ‘another week or two’.

“I haven’t trained enough with the team yet to come back into the side,” Arteta said in his column in the Arsenal programme.

“We need to manage the workload on the ankle. I played for the under-21s against Stoke recently, and I’ve been feeling OK, but I’m not in a position yet where I can feel perfect and just go out there forgetting about my ankle.”

Captaining the side in the FA Cup final against Hull last season, he is hopeful that he will be fit enough to help the side against Aston Villa this season and he will certainly offer a different dimension to the tough-tackling approach of Francis Coquelin who has deputised for him while he has been sidelined.

“I need to train more with the team, get my confidence and build it up. My aim now is to train with the team for another week or two and then be able to say to the boss ‘OK, I’m ready now if you want to pick me.’

“It’s been a frustrating time for me, but I would love to be able to finish the season by lifting a trophy of course.”