Mikel Arteta has offered Arsenal some encouragement before Bournemouth, with one important return confirmed and a hint that the wider injury picture may not be as bleak as it first looked.
Mikel Arteta has delivered a mixed but broadly encouraging injury update before Arsenal face Bournemouth, with Ebere Eze available again and signs of progress elsewhere in the squad.
There was obvious concern on Thursday when Bukayo Saka, Jurrien Timber, Martin Odegaard, Riccardo Calafiori and Piero Hincapie did not appear in the opening section of training.
Asked whether any of those players could yet be involved against Bournemouth, Arteta said: “There have been changes since yesterday, yes.”
The clearest positive concerned Eze, who had not featured since the 2-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen last month. Arteta confirmed he is available this weekend and suggested the player’s determination has driven a quicker return than first expected.
“He is available. He has [been ahead of schedule], my first conversation with him after he felt a niggle, he wanted to be available the next week, we knew that was impossible.
“But the recovery, the will that he’s shown from day one to get back as quick as possible, how he’s pushed the medical staff and himself to be there tomorrow, it’s just great to watch.”
That is a significant development given the tone of the initial reports after the League Cup final, when it was suggested Eze could miss four to six weeks and potentially the whole of April, perhaps even part of May.
Later updates indicated he might return for Manchester City on 19 April, but his return to training has now brought Bournemouth into view.
For Arsenal, that would be a timely lift. Eze was voted the club’s Player of the Month for March, and his availability would matter not only for the league run-in but also next week’s Champions League quarter-final second leg.
There was also a positive update on Mikel Merino, even if his comeback remains some way off. He has not played since the 3-2 defeat by Manchester United in January, but Arteta said the recovery from surgery is progressing well.
“He’s another one that is going to push every boundary.
“He’s out of his boot now. He’s doing quite a lot of exercises already. He’s reacted really well to the surgery. He’s got no pain.
“It’s more for the medical staff to go a bit further on that. But I’m sure there is a chance to make that period shorter. If there is a person who can do it, I’m sure that’s going to be Mikel again.”
The less encouraging part of the update concerns the number of senior players still not seen in training footage.
There was no sign of Saka, Timber, Odegaard, Hincapie, or Calafiori in the live stream shown on Arsenal’s official app.
That does not prove they are unavailable, as players can be managed separately or join later, but given all six had already been injury concerns, it was hardly reassuring.