Mikel Arteta has revealed that two of his injured stars are very close to a return, with further updates on three other absentees.

With Fabio Vieira making his comeback to the Arsenal squad in midweek, the Gunners have five players absent through injury at the moment.

Mikel Arteta gave updates on all five in his most recent press conference on Friday, with the most positive news relating to Thomas Partey and Gabriel Jesus.

Arteta stopped short of confirming that either player would be involved against Newcastle United on Saturday, but he suggested both are “very close” now, with Oleksandr Zinchenko only slightly further away.

It seems Takehiro Tomiyasu is slightly further away at the moment, and not set for an imminent return.

“Let’s see, we have another session today,” Arteta began on Partey.

“Obviously, he’s been out for many, many months now. We need to really nail the timing when he has enough in the tank to compete. But I think he’s very close.

“Same with Gabi [Jesus], as well, he’s done a few things. And Alex [Zinchenko] is not far too.

“Tomiyasu is still a little bit more (distant from a return), I think.”

Jurrien Timber is the fifth Arsenal absentee, with the summer signing suffering an ACL injury on his Premier League debut.

The defender returned to the training pitches in January, but it was always going to be a while before he was involved in full training and matches.

One reporter asked whether we’d see Timber back before the end of the season.

“I really hope so,” Arteta responded. “He’s doing really well, he’s been with some players that are running out on the pitch, he’s going to start to do some bits with us in the next week or so.

“And then we have to see how that evolves, his confidence level, his fitness level, and hopefully the answer is ‘yes’.”