Mikel Arteta Receives Boost as Arsenal Stars Return for Man City Showdown
Arsenal head into the Community Shield with their season curtain-raiser suddenly looking a lot stronger.
Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka and Martin Zubimendi are all set to be available against Manchester City in Cardiff, with Mikel Arteta confirming the influential trio are back in the frame after post-World Cup breaks.
“They will be available,” Arteta said on Friday, a line that will have travelled fast through the Arsenal fanbase. “They trained with us today, they will train tomorrow. If they are in the condition we expect them to be, they will be involved.”
For a game that often feels like a glorified friendly, this one carries a little more edge. Premier League champions against FA Cup holders, Arteta against a City side now led by Enzo Maresca, and Arsenal desperate to land an early psychological punch. Having their core back matters.
Rice, Saka and Zubimendi back in the fold
Rice and Saka only recently returned from England duty after their run to the World Cup semi-finals in North America. Zubimendi did not just go deep at the tournament, he went all the way, part of the Spain squad that lifted the trophy last month.
All three have now rejoined Arsenal training and, crucially, come through the initial sessions well.
Saka was even ahead of schedule. He was due back on Monday but reported earlier, on Saturday, alongside Spain goalkeeper David Raya. The urgency tells its own story. Arsenal want rhythm, sharpness and their main men ready as early as possible.
There are fitness questions that linger in the background, especially around Saka and Rice. Saka nursed an Achilles problem through the second half of last season, playing through discomfort as Arsenal pushed City in the title race. Rice spoke during the World Cup about neural pain in his hamstring that had been troubling him since Christmas, then had to contend with a calf issue and illness.
Arteta, though, sounded relaxed.
“We haven’t noticed anything,” he said. “They have individual plans. Through the time they had with the national team they’ve been trying to evolve those issues and they have improved.
“In the rest period that they had, they both had specific programmes for themselves. They’ve been doing those and so far what I saw the last two or three days, it was really good.”
If that holds, Arsenal not only get their leaders back, they get them unburdened by the knocks that dragged them down the stretch last year.
Depth returns – but key absentees remain
The squad around them is also thickening out again. Eberechi Eze, Noni Madueke and Mikel Merino have all returned from their post-World Cup holidays and featured in Wednesday’s pre-season draw with Como, as did Raya.
That friendly offered Arteta minutes, patterns and a first look at how some of his returning internationals were moving. It did not, though, change the bad news on William Saliba.
The centre-back faces an extended spell out with a long-term back problem. The issue, which flared up again during the World Cup, does not require surgery but has been serious enough to rule him out for a significant period. For a side that felt Saliba’s absence acutely two seasons ago, that remains a major concern.
On the opposite flank, there is another gap. Jurrien Timber will not feature against City. The versatile defender is still battling a persistent groin injury that has stalked him since March and kept him out of the World Cup entirely, save for a brief Champions League final appearance from the bench in May.
Arteta’s latest bulletin on Timber carried a hint of optimism but no promises.
“[He is] progressing really well,” the Arsenal manager said. “He’s on the pitch, we're ramping up now certain actions, especially the volume and the load.
“I think he’s on a good trajectory but still a few weeks to go.”
Could that timeline accelerate and bring Timber back before the international break next month? Arteta would not bite.
“I don’t know. We have to wait and see.
“He needs to start to train with the group in the next week or so hopefully and then see how he progresses from there.
“But obviously it’s been a long-term issue and we want to make sure that every step that we take is the right one. He’s such an important player for us.”
So Arsenal travel to Cardiff with their attacking heartbeat restored but their defensive options still patched together.
The Community Shield will not decide a title, but with Rice, Saka and Zubimendi back, it might just hint at how ready this Arsenal side really are to go after City again.
