Mikel Arteta has assured fans that Bukayo Saka is ‘fine’ even after the Arsenal star missed training ahead of Tuesday’s trip to PSV.
Arsenal travel to the Dutch giants having already qualified for the Champions League knockouts as group winners.
As such, Arteta is expected to make plenty of changes with several youngsters likely to get a chance in the starting XI, while key players will be rested.
One such player is Saka, but there was concerning news from the Gunners training ground on Monday morning as the England international and fellow forward Gabriel Martinelli were both absent.
Saka is carrying a knock from Saturday’s defeat at Aston Villa, but speaking in his pre-match press conference, Arteta claims there is nothing to worry about: ‘No, he’s fine.
‘With a few of the players we decided to give them another day’s recovery just 48 before and some of them have played a lot of minutes.
‘We’ve already done what we had to do inside, so it wasn’t worth putting them out and exposing them outside today.’
One player who will miss the PSV clash is Jurrien Timber who continues to recover from the bad knee injury he sustained in August.
It was thought that he could miss the entire season, but a recent update from the defender suggests his rehabilitation is ahead of schedule, and while Arteta could not confirm this, he did share how impressed he was with the Dutchman’s efforts.
‘He is doing very well. Obviously he’s going through a really significant injury but he’s flying to be fair, the stage he is right now,’ the Spaniard added.
‘[He’s recovering] very fast. The way he works every single day is incredibly satisfying to watch but unfortunately we’re going to miss him still for a long time.
‘The first few steps are crucial for that injury, for the amount of work they have to do for the knee to be resolved and get some activity and mobility back and start to build the strength.
‘Especially how the head is throughout that period, I think he’s in a really good place.’