Mikel Arteta has received a boost by having Riccardo Calafiori and Ethan Nwaneri available again for Wednesday’s Champions League game against Dinamo Zagreb.
The Italian defender has missed the past three matches with a muscular problem but joined in with today’s training session at the Sobha Realty Training Centre as he hopes to prove his fitness in time for the clash against the Croatian champions.
He was joined by Ethan, who was forced off at half-time with a groin injury after opening the scoring against Brighton & Hove Albion two-and-a-half weeks ago, but has made a quick recovery as he aims to add to his three European appearances this season.
Mikel was delighted to see the pair back, stating: “It’s very positive news, we’ve missed them for a few weeks and they returned today for training so they will be available for the game.
“It was a big setback [for Ethan] because he was getting some consistency and more minutes. We made him play in a different position and he was doing really well, then suddenly this happens. It’s understandable with the load as well, it goes through the roof immediately and this is what we have to manage.”
The boss was without William Saliba for Saturday’s draw against Aston Villa, and admits that the Frenchman will be forced to watch from the sidelines again as he nurses his hamstring, but feels that he should be back in action in the next couple of weeks.
On whether he would be back ahead of our game against Manchester City on February 2, Mikel added: “I hope so yes.
“He is evolving well. The last few days he was feeling much better already but this game comes a little bit too early for him.”
Mikel also provided an update on Bukayo Saka’s progress as he required hamstring surgery after being substituted in our 5-1 win over Crystal Palace just before Christmas.
When asked if he would be back sooner than the anticipated three months, Mikel suggested: “No, that’s not going to change. It’s within the process and the time that we had, that phase has gone now.
“He’s doing really well, he’s feeling better day by day, but we have to respect the healing process and then he has a lot of stages to go through in his rehab.”
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