Mikel Arteta Welcomes Back Key Players for Man City Clash

Mikel Arteta will walk into the Community Shield with three of his biggest hitters back at his disposal – and he made sure Manchester City know it.

Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka and Martin Zubimendi are all set to return for Arsenal in Sunday’s season curtain-raiser in Cardiff, with the trio back in full training after their post-World Cup breaks.

“They will be available,” Arteta confirmed on Friday. “They trained with us today, they will train tomorrow. If they are in the condition we expect them to be, they will be involved.”

That is exactly what Arsenal fans wanted to hear.

Rice, Saka and Zubimendi back in the fold

Rice and Saka rejoined the squad this week after England’s run to the World Cup semi-finals in North America, while Zubimendi has reported back following Spain’s tournament win.

Saka was not even supposed to be back yet. He was due to return on Monday, but he and Spain goalkeeper David Raya cut their holidays short and were back at London Colney on Saturday. The message is clear: they want in for City.

Arteta has wasted no time throwing them into the work. All three have trained and are being lined up to feature against the Premier League champions, now led by former Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca.

The rhythm of Arsenal’s summer has picked up with more World Cup returnees, too. Eberechi Eze, Noni Madueke and Mikel Merino are all back from their breaks and featured in Wednesday’s pre-season draw with Como, alongside Raya.

Injury worries eased for key men

The bigger question was not whether Rice and Saka would turn up, but how they would feel when they did.

Saka nursed an Achilles issue through much of the second half of last season. Rice spoke during the World Cup about neural pain in his hamstring that had been troubling him since Christmas, then had to deal with a calf problem and illness on top of that.

Arteta, though, sounded relaxed.

“We haven’t noticed anything,” he said. “They have individual plans. Through the time they had with the national team 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.”

For a squad that faded physically at key moments last season, that assessment matters as much as any tactical tweak.

Saliba out long term, Timber still “weeks away”

Not all the news is positive.

William Saliba faces an extended spell out with a long-term back problem. The issue, which does not require surgery, was aggravated during the World Cup and has ruled the Frenchman out of the opening chapter of the new campaign. Arsenal know exactly how costly his absence can be.

On the right side of defence, Jurrien Timber will also be missing at the weekend. The Dutch international is still battling a persistent groin injury that has dogged him since March.

Arteta revealed earlier in the week that Timber was still “weeks away” from a return. That timeline has not shifted, even if the tone around his recovery has brightened.

“[He is] progressing really well,” Arteta said. “He’s on the pitch, we're ramping up now certain actions, especially the volume and the load.

“I think he’s on a good trajectory but still a few weeks to go."

Asked if Timber could make it back before the international break next month, Arteta refused to commit.

“I don’t know. 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.

“But obviously it’s been a long-term issue and we want to make sure that every step that we take is the right one. He’s such an important player for us.”

So Arsenal head to Cardiff without Saliba and Timber, but with Rice, Saka and Zubimendi ready to rejoin the fight. Against a retooled City and a new season looming, it feels like the first real roll of the dice.