Arsenal made a huge statement of intent on Sunday afternoon with a 6-0 away win over West Ham United in the Premier League. The Gunners’ emphatic result was their biggest-ever away win in the Premier League.
William Saliba, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Magalhaes and Leandro Trossard all scored to put Mikel Arteta’s side 4-0 up at half-time. Saka added another before Declan Rice scored the goal of the game.
The Gunners’ biggest win of the season made it four wins in four straight games, leaving them just one point behind league leaders Liverpool. However, despite the win, there remains a number of injury problems for Arteta.
Gabriel Jesus, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Emile Smith Rowe were all left out of the squad altogether at the London Stadium. Fortunately, there were no fresh concerns to deal with after the game. With that said, football.london has taken a look at the latest Arsenal injury news.
Takehiro Tomiyasu
Despite returning from the Asian Cup last week, Tomiyasu missed the game at West Ham. Arteta confirmed afterward that he returned from his international duties with a slight problem.
What Arteta said: “Yeah he had a niggle when he came with the national team. It was not the moment to risk him after how many minutes he played.”
Expected return date: Unknown.
Oleksandr Zinchenko
Injury: Calf.
After being replaced at half-time last week, Zinchenko was left out of the squad altogether yesterday.
What Arteta said: “We don’t know. He had some feeling in his calf again and we had to take him off.”
Yesterday, he added: “Alex is not fit.”
Expected return date: Unknown.
Gabriel Jesus
Injury: Knee.
The Brazil international missed out against Liverpool and West Ham after it was revealed he had been playing with fluid in his knee against Nottingham Forest.
What Arteta has said: “With Gabi we expect it to be something that is days. Unfortunately, he had a setback in training and he wasn’t fit to play. It’s something related to his knee, but I think it’s a short-term thing. The return [against Forest] might’ve been a bit too fast for him.”
Prior to the West Ham game, he said: “Gab [Jesus] is not available in the squad.”
Expected return date: Unknown.
Emile Smith Rowe
Injury: Ankle
The Hale Ender was an unused substitute in the Liverpool win. Despite no mention of a problem in the week, Smith Rowe was out of the squad altogether against West Ham.
What Arteta has said: “Emile turned his ankle in training so he’s not fit to play.”
Thomas Partey
Injury: Thigh.
Partey returned to training and had been participating in full sessions. However, he has not been fit for the last three games.
What Arteta has said: “He’s progressing really well, but it’s a bit too soon to tell you exactly when we’re going to have him back.”
Expected return date: Unknown.
Jurrien Timber
Injury: Knee.
He has stepped up his return from injury and is now involved in ball training. The Gunners included the defender in their updated Champions League squad list ahead of their last-16 tie with FC Porto this month.
What Arteta has said: “There’s a possibility [he plays again this season], but at the moment he’s still very far from competing. That’s the realistic picture.
“Are we hopeful that he could have a realistic impact before the end of the season? If everything goes well, it looks like that might happen. At the moment, though, it’s too early to make that call [one way or another].”
Expected return date: Unknown.
Fabio Vieira
Injury: Groin.
The Portuguese is still recovering from injury after having surgery. Vieira participated in Arsenal’s winter camp in Dubai and is understood to be nearing a return.
What Arteta has said: “Yeah we’ve got a problem with him. He’s been having some discomfort. We tried to have some conservative treatment with him.
“It wasn’t improving so we sent him to see a specialist and the advice was to have an operation in his groin. We expect him to be out for weeks now.”
