After a three-week international break, Mikel Arteta can select a starting XI again when we face Leeds United on Saturday, and he has updated us on which players he has at his disposal.
A few Gunners returned to the Sobha Realty Training Centre earlier than expected, including Kai Havertz, who was withdrawn during Germany’s opening match of the four-game break against the Netherlands in Amsterdam. Christos Tzolis then picked up an injury as a substitute in Greece’s draw with the Dutch, while Ezri Konsa missed England’s final group match against the Czech Republic on Tuesday.
Mikel revealed he’s been in close contact with all the national team managers to see how his players were faring, and while he hopes that Kai and Ezri could be OK to feature against the Whites, he’ll definitely be without Christos for the next few matches.
“With Kai because he had a muscular injury,” he said in his pre-match press conference. “I spoke to Jurgen [Klopp] and immediately they sent the player back, as is normal. Ezri has been carrying some issues as well, and we had good communication with the England camp about that.
“Tzolis has a muscle injury and he’s going to be out I think for a few weeks. He’s not available yet.”
Declan Rice meanwhile sat out the entire international break, and Mikel felt that was unavoidable, with the midfielder struggling with niggles after a shorter-than-usual summer. That call should mean that Declan is raring to go against Leeds.
“We have to manage him because he’s had a few issues since he’s come back from the World Cup,” Mikel added. “We know the amount of games he’s played in the last three years. It was the sensible thing to do, and hopefully tomorrow he’s available.”
Thankfully, our defensive options have been bolstered by the return of Ben White, who missed out on returning to his former club, Brighton & Hove Albion, after sustaining a groin issue in the win against Sunderland last month.
He returned to training during the break, while Piero Hincapie and Cristhian Mosquera are also back to full fitness too, with Mikel praising the duo for their swift comebacks.
“They did incredibly well to be available for the Brighton game,” he said. “We decided not to use them at the end, especially in the manner that we had to play the last few minutes, but they are both available, and Ben White as well.”
Max Dowman was forced to pull out of England’s under-19s squad last weekend after appearing in all three matches this international break against the Republic of Ireland, Norway and the United States, but Mikel also said that the 16-year-old is available if need be.
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