Mesut Özil is back in training after his recent back problems, finally seeming to close in on a return after two weeks of vague updates.

Arsenal posted their latest team news update on Tuesday, writing that Mesut Özil is “being assessed” for the Liverpool match following back soreness.

At the time, it felt like groundhog day, with Arsenal having provided exactly the same update for the last few weeks of games. Plus, Mikel Arteta’s recent comments made things even more confusing.

After the North London derby, Arteta told the media: “He is still in the same positions he was last week or two weeks ago and we said we will manage everything internally. I have nothing to say.”

That seems like a very odd thing to say about an injury. Normally, you’d just tell reporters that the player is still struggling with a back problem and you don’t quite know when he’ll return. Instead, Arteta makes no reference to an injury or fitness concern.

However, Özil is now back in training, seemingly validating Arsenal’s update.

Finally, we can put to bed concerns of a more serious injury being covered up. If there was any falling out behind the scenes leading to his exclusion, it appears they’ve sorted it now. With any luck, he might even play some football in the near future!

Other Team News

There are no new injuries, and everyone is still on track for their current targets. So that’s all positive to hear.

Bernd Leno should return to training before the end of the season. Pablo Mari is back in September and Calum Chambers and Gabriel Martinelli are out for this season. Eddie Nketiah will return from suspension against Aston Villa.