ARSENAL INJURY UPDATE
Rice, Saliba, Saka: Latest Arsenal injuries and return dates as Mikel Arteta issues update
Arsenal moved four points clear at the top of the Premier League table with a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace, but Mikel Arteta was left sweating on the fitness of several players
Bukayo Saka had to be withdrawn against Crystal Palace(Image: Javier Garcia/Shutterstock)
Mikel Arteta has delivered a fitness update on his squad following three enforced substitutions during Arsenal’s 1-0 Premier League victory over Crystal Palace.
Eberechi Eze scored the decisive goal against his former side, propelling the Gunners four points clear at the summit. With Liverpool and Manchester City both suffering defeats, Sunderland, Bournemouth and Tottenham have emerged as Arsenal’s closest pursuers, making the North London club overwhelming title favourites.
Maintaining player fitness will prove crucial to sustaining that position, though Arteta encountered four fresh injury concerns during their latest triumph. William Saliba became the first casualty, with Cristhian Mosquera taking his place at the interval.
Declan Rice was withdrawn in the closing stages, whilst it subsequently emerged that Riccardo Calafiori, substituted at the same moment, had also picked up a problem. Gabriel Martinelli was additionally seen hobbling down the tunnel.
Bukayo Saka entered the match carrying a fitness concern, which partly explained his relatively early departure.
With that in mind, The Mirror has compiled the latest Arsenal injury bulletin ahead of their encounters with Brighton and Burnley over the coming six days.
William Saliba
Saliba failed to emerge for the second period against Palace, with Mosquera once again standing in for the Frenchman.
What Arteta has said: “Well, the first one was Willy that obviously had to be out after the first half. On Willy there are two things related to his substitution.”
Possible return date: Unknown.
Bukayo Saka
There were worries over Saka as he hadn’t been seen in Arsenal training this week. Despite starting the match, he was taken off just after the hour mark.
What Arteta has said: “We didn’t know whether he was going to be fit. He’s been ill, he hasn’t trained really, so we didn’t know whether he was going to be fit, so he made a big effort to be available today.”
Possible return date: October 29 vs Brighton.
Gabriel Martinelli
Martinelli replaced Saka and completed the match but seemed to pick up an injury, as he was seen heading down the tunnel with physios.
What Arteta has said: “We have to check that one. He was a bit uncomfortable. He said he felt something. We don’t know whether it’s a muscular issue or not. Tomorrow we’ll have more news.”
Possible return date: Unknown.
Martin Odegaard
Martin Odegaard, Arsenal’s captain, is making good progress from a knee injury that has kept him out of the last three games.
What Arteta has said: “[The long-termers] are progressing really well. They are starting to do certain activities. They are super willing to be available as quick as possible. But at the moment, none of them are in contention in the next week or so.
“There’s no definite date for his return, but he’s evolving well. It’s very unlucky what’s happening with him and his injuries this season, but I think he will be back in a few weeks. It could be [after the next Int’ break], but we’ll have to see how he progresses. It’s too early to give an answer.”
Possible return date: November/December 2025.
Declan Rice
Rice needed attention from the physios after seeming to clutch his upper right leg. He was eventually substituted for Mikel Merino.
What Arteta has said: “Declan was struggling from the first half with a knock that he took. I don’t really know because it was a knock. But I don’t know if it was the calf or the Achilles or what exactly it was.”
Possible return date: Unknown.
Riccardo Calafiori
Piero Hincapie came on for Calafiori with eight minutes of normal time remaining against Palace, and Arteta confessed he too may have sustained an injury.
What Arteta has said: “Who was the other one? Ricky. As well. So yeah, let’s see how that will go.”
Possible return date: Unknown.

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Riccardo Calafiori appears to have picked up an injury against Crystal Palace(Image: Getty Images)
Kai Havertz
Kai Havertz underwent surgery in August after suffering a knee injury on the opening day of the season against Manchester United.
What Arteta has said: “[The long-termers] are progressing really well. They are starting to do certain activities. They are super willing to be available as quick as possible. But at the moment, none of them are in contention in the next week or so.”
Possible return date: November 2025.
Noni Madueke
He was forced off in the 1-1 draw against Manchester City in late September and has been absent since with a knee problem.
What Arteta has said: “[The long-termers] are progressing really well. They are starting to do certain activities. They are super willing to be available as quick as possible. But at the moment, none of them are in contention in the next week or so.
Possible return date: November 2025.
Gabriel Jesus
Jesus has been sidelined for the past nine months following a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament injury. However, he is moving closer to making his comeback.
What Arteta has said: “[The long-termers] are progressing really well. They are starting to do certain activities. They are super willing to be available as quick as possible. But at the moment, none of them are in contention in the next week or so.
What Jesus has said: “I’m feeling great. My knee is responding very well. An injury like this, one that is so long, you split up the recovery periods into smaller timings. So now I’m at the stage where I need to hold myself back a little bit because I’m doing great work outside on the pitches, but it’s tricky because I need to not rush myself too hard over the line.
“When you can see the end it’s important you don’t push too hard, keep my feet on the floor, and then as soon as the time comes, I will be ready.”
We return to Premier League action on Saturday, December 13 against Wolves at Emirates Stadium, and you can see how we’ve been preparing for the contest with our latest training gallery.
Despite our 18-match unbeaten run coming to an end at Villa Park last weekend, we head into Saturday’s game in winning form after thrashing Club Brugge 3-0 in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Victory against Rob Edwards’ side would extend our lead at the top of the Premier League to five points, with the teams closest to us in the table playing on Sunday.
Swipe through the gallery below, captured by club photographer, Stuart MacFarlane, to see what our players have been up to at the Sobha Realty Training Centre:
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Arsenal could be without nine players for Saturday’s clash against Wolves.
Cristhian Mosquera, Gabriel, Kai Havertz and Max Dowman will definitely miss the game due to injury.
Riccardo Calafiori will also be absent because he is suspended after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season last weekend at Aston Villa.
Myles Lewis-Skelly will start at left-back in place of Calafiori and Mikel Arteta will hope Jurrien Timber is fit to partner Piero Hincapie in the heart of defence.
Timber is one of four players that are doubts for the game with Wolves at Emirates Stadium.
Declan Rice was ill in midweek and missed the win in Club Brugge. Leandro Trossard has a calf problem and William Saliba is struggling with an ankle issue.
“[Saliba] hasn’t trained with us yet,” said Arteta on Friday morning. “We have an extra day, we train this afternoon. Let’s see if he can be available or not.
“If you asked me [about the] Everton game, I think he will be fit. For tomorrow I don’t know.
“It came from an ankle injury that he had and then it started to modify the way he was running and all that. He started to overload an area, which is something common.”
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Arteta may not have to rush Rice back as he could opt to play with a midfield trio of Eberechi Eze, Martin Odegaard and Martin Zubimendi.
Arsenal played with Eze and Odegaard as two No8s earlier this season, when they hosted West Ham.
In attack, Viktor Gyokeres will hope to lead the line again after starting in Club Brugge and getting just over an hour under his belt.
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Bukayo Saka was rested for that game, but should return. Noni Madueke could keep his place in team after scoring twice against Brugge, however he may have to move to the left flank.
Arsenal predicted XI (4-3-3): Raya; White, Timber, Hincapie, Lewis-Skelly; Odegaard, Zubimendi, Eze; Saka, Gyokeres, Madueke
ARSENAL INJURY UPDATE
HUGE BLOW : Mikel Arteta on injury crisis: Arsenal in ‘really dangerous circle’ as Max Dowman also sidelined
Mikel Arteta says Arsenal are caught in a “really dangerous circle” after a consistent spate on injuries across this season; Max Dowman is the latest Gunners’ player to be ruled out, but Arteta denies over-training is to blame; Arsenal play Club Brugge in the Champions League on Wednesday
Wednesday 10 December 2025 11:09, UK
Image:Mikel Arteta says Arsenal are in “dangerous circle” regarding injury issues
Mikel Arteta said Arsenal are in a “really dangerous circle” as their injury crisis worsened over the weekend with news that teenager Max Dowman has been sidelined for a number of weeks with ankle ligament damage.
Arsenal’s 28 injuries is the highest in the Premier League this season. Their current absentee list is made up of three centre-backs in William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes and Cristhian Mosquera, as well as Kai Havertz and now Dowman.
Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka, Ben White, Gabriel Martinelli, Leandro Trossard, Gabriel Jesus, Viktor Gyokeres, Noni Madueke, Christian Norgaard and Piero Hincapie have also faced spells on the sidelines across an injury-blighted campaign, some with multiple setbacks.
To add to Arteta’s problems, Trossard has not travelled to Belgium for Arsenal’s Champions League match against Club Brugge on Wednesday after he limped off in defeat to Aston Villa over the weekend while Declan Rice is also absent – but through illness.
Gabriel Jesus, on his way back from an ACL injury, has replaced Dowman in the Gunners’ Champions League squad and could make his first appearance since January against Brugge.
Image:Gabriel picked up an injury against Olympiakos
Asked if training methods are partly to blame, Arteta said: “No, because we don’t have time to train. Today [Tuesday] we’ve done 20 minutes, so surely it’s not because we over-trained the players.
“But obviously when you are missing players, you are loading other players and there is a consequence to that, and it’s a really dangerous circle.
Watch Arsenal players’ reaction to Emi Buendia’s last-gasp goal for Aston Villa that ended their 18-match unbeaten run
“You have to separate the kind of injuries. Some of them have been long-term and some have been acute injuries. It’s something that we are constantly looking at.
“We have played a lot of games with a lot of players missing and that puts a lot of stress, and then you get more injuries.”
Commenting on Dowman’s injury, Arteta added: “With Max, unfortunately he picked up an injury last weekend, and he had to come off, so we did some scans and he is going to be out for weeks.”
Arsenal can make it six consecutive wins in the Champions League with victory in Belgium, almost certainly guaranteeing a top-eight finish and automatic qualification to the knockout rounds.
Injuries in clusters poses another problem
Image:Kai Havertz hasn’t played a single minute for Arsenal this season
It is not just the volume of injuries causing problems for Arsenal. They continue to suffer injuries in positional clusters too.
Last season, it was most apparent up front, with Havertz tearing his hamstring in February after another injury to Jesus had increased the burden on him as the side’s only available striker.
Gary Neville believes although Arsenal will now feel Manchester City breathing down their neck, it isn’t time to panic, as they simply lost a tough match against Aston Villa
A similar situation occurred at right-back, as injuries to Takehiro Tomiyasu and White ensured a punishing schedule for Jurrien Timber, who had to undergo surgery on an ankle issue in May.
Arsenal paid the price for leaving themselves short in certain positions last season, particularly up front. But the problem has resurfaced this term.
Everton
Arsenal
Saturday 20th December 7:45pmKick off 8:00pm
An injury to Havertz at the start of the season left Gyokeres with a heavier-than-planned load. He then hurt his groin, with midfielder Mikel Merino having to fill in up front as he did last season.
Merino performed admirably in the role but, having been required to start seven consecutive games in the space of a month for Arsenal, either side of another two starts for Spain, he was taken off at half-time in Saturday’s loss Aston Villa, clearly fatigued.
Arsenal’s December fixtures
Dec 10: Club Brugge (A) – Champions League
Dec 13: Wolves (H) – Premier League
Dec 20: Everton (A) – Premier League, live on Sky Sports
Dec 23: Crystal Palace (H) – Carabao Cup quarter-final, live on Sky Sports
Dec 27: Brighton (H) – Premier League
Dec 30: Aston Villa (H) – Premier League, live on Sky Sports
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