A difficult spot arrives for Arsenal as they look to gear up for the Champions League match against Shakhtar Donetsk. Injuries have drained Mikel Arteta‘s depth chart with Bukayo Saka and Jurrien Timber already out. The strain keeps mounting for the Gunners in trying to split time with a shrinkingly thinned squad between domestic and European campaigns.
Saka And Timber Might Not Be Available for Arsenal
Bukayo Saka, Arsenal’s star winger, and another player who hasn’t featured this season, Jurrien Timber, will also have to battle time if they are to play the next game. However, Saka has been an all-important man for Arsenal. He was missing against Bournemouth due to a muscle problem. While Timber suffered a knee problem early in the season. But the team could think about some defensive challenges during his absence.
Mikel Arteta gave an update on the duo’s progress before their game with Shakhtar Donetsk. “They are closer and both progressing really well,” he said at a press conference. However, though their update sounded positive, there was still a doubt over their participation in the crucial European tie as they did not turn up for training yesterday.
How Important Is Saka for Arsenal
Saka not playing could be a huge blow for Arsenal. This is one of the team’s main players. His creativity and goal-scoring for them really made the difference in tight games. The absence of Saka will make Arsenal find it hard to break Shakhtar’s defense. And fans were worried about his fitness status going into the match.
Arteta said Saka’s fitness will be reassessed every day. “With Bukayo, let’s see how he feels today and in the training session that we have later on,” Arteta explained. Still missing two important training sessions, however, doesn’t look well, and many worry that he won’t be ready for this crucial Champions League clash.
Timber Missing? Defensive Problems for Arsenal
Jurrien Timber has been out with a knee injury from the start of the season. And his return seems far off yet. Though Arteta reports on further progress in Timber’s recovery, the defender might be made to miss several more weeks of action. This has forced Arsenal to depend on other defenders, who are themselves facing fitness challenges.
The return of William Saliba to face Shakhtar does little to improve Arsenal’s fragile defense. Saliba did feature in the game at Bournemouth last weekend and is fit and healthy. But his colleagues are still somewhat short. Tomiyasu has been injury prone, and he missed the last league match. Kieran Tierney is still recovering from a hamstring injury, sustained during Euro 2024 while playing for Scotland. This means Arsenal does not have depth in the defense line. And this puts responsibility back on the likes of Gabriel and Ben White. As they are the ones who have to shine through during such matches.
Arteta’s Selection Dilemma
Mikel Arteta hardly knows where to start picking his lineup with so many key players out. For instance, there is very little choice to be made on the back when Arsenal is one of the thin teams going forward if Saka does not make the match. Arteta has to try to get the right balance between fielding a competitive unit and incurring the risk of further injuries.
And now it comes at a crucial time for Arsenal, considering the weeks leading into this period and a bit of a far more important spell ahead. As the already lengthened injury list of the club faces further stretching out without some of its stars. The Gunners have to work carefully through some key Premier League and Champions League matches that are approaching without losing their promising start in the season.
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