Mikel Arteta has confirmed that Declan Rice, Martin Zubimendi and Bukayo Saka will all be available to face Manchester City in the Community Shield. The Arsenal boss also provided updates on William Saliba and Jurrien Timber, who are both recovering from long-term injuries which they suffered during the World Cup.
Pre-season absence and returns
All five players didn't feature in any of the Gunners' pre-season friendlies. Rice, Zubimendi and Saka each made it to the final weekend of the tournament with England and Spain respectively, so they were afforded additional time off in order prepare for what's set to be another gruelling campaign at club level.
Saliba, however, went down with a back problem in the opening stages of France's semi-final defeat to Spain. Meanwhile, Timber picked up a serious groin injury just days before the Netherlands kicked off their campaign.
Arteta's update on the quintet
Arteta was asked to provide an update on the quintet during Friday's pre-match conference and had mixed news. "They [Rice, Zubimendi and Saka] will be available. They trained with us today, they will train tomorrow and if they are in the condition that we expect them to be, they will be involved."
The Arsenal manager added: "Jurrien is progressing really well, he is on the pitch, we are ramping up now with certain actions and especially the volume and the load. I think he is on a good trajectory, but there is still a few weeks to go. Wilo, as we all know, it's more a long-term injury."
Timber and Saliba recovery timelines
Asked whether Timber could return before the next international break which starts in September and runs into October, Arteta replied: "We have to wait and see. He needs to start to train with the group in the next week or so hopefully, and then see how he progresses from there."
"It's been a long-term issue, and we want to make sure that every step that we take is the right one, he feels right to do that, because he's such an important player for us."
Rice and Saka fitness management
Both Rice and Saka had fitness issues during the World Cup and had to be managed by England's medical staff. But Arteta hasn't seen anything from the duo that's worried him.
"We haven't noticed anything; they had individual plans through the time that they had with the national team," he explained. "They've been trying to evolve those issues and they have improved."
"In the rest period that they had, they both had specific programmes for themselves. They've been doing those and so far, what I saw the last two or three days, it was really good."
