Latest Arsenal injury news as four could miss clash with Shakhtar 

Arsenal have a great opportunity to recover from their Premier League defeat to Bournemouth as they prepare to face Shakhtar Donetsk at home on Tuesday. Just three days after a tough evening on the south coast, Mikel Arteta’s team will take to the pitch again.

Although injuries have already limited Arsenal’s squad, their task against Bournemouth became even harder when William Saliba was sent off. Fortunately, his suspension doesn’t affect European games, so he’ll be available for the match at the Emirates Stadium.

Adding to the good news, Arteta is hopeful that Bukayo Saka will return to the team. Saka missed the Bournemouth game due to a hamstring injury. One he likely picked up during international duty. Despite being a doubt, he wasn’t included in the squad at all.

Speaking before the Shakhtar game, Arteta mentioned there’s still quite a chance Saka could return quickly, saying, “Let’s see how he feels today and the transition we have later on.” However, Saka wasn’t seen during Arsenal’s training session on Monday.

Jurrien Timber was also absent. He hasn’t played since Arsenal’s 2-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain before the international break. Though he wasn’t called up for the Netherlands squad, he also missed the Bournemouth match. Arteta believes Timber is quite close to returning but hasn’t yet trained with the full group.

Martin Odegaard is also still out and hasn’t played for over four weeks. He’s not expected back until late October. Though Arteta shared some positive news about his recovery, saying Odegaard is “progressing really well.”

Even so, he’s not fit to play or to rejoin team training yet. On a more positive note, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Thomas Partey, Ben White, and Gabriel Martinelli all made the squad for the Bournemouth game after being doubtful.

Zinchenko didn’t feature on the pitch but could get his chance in the Champions League if Arteta decides to rotate the squad. Kieran Tierney remains out.