Mikel Arteta offers fitness update on Emile Smith Rowe, Kieran Tierney and 2 other Arsenal stars ahead of Premier League opener against Crystal Palace
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has given an update on the fitness of Emile Smith Rowe, Kieran Tierney, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Fabio Vieira ahead of his side's Premier League opener against Crystal Palace on August 6.
The Gunners enjoyed an incredible pre-season tour, winning all five of their friendlies and scoring 20 goals, which included four against Chelsea and six against Sevilla. They kept three clean sheets and conceded four goals in those matches.
The club will therefore be keen to take their good form into the new campaign. The north London club could, however, be without the services of Emile Smith Rowe.
The 22-year-old was one of the standout players for Arsenal last season, scoring 11 goals in 33 Premier League games. Smith-Rowe is believed to be suffering from a groin problem.
Kieran Tierney missed the last two months of the 2021-22 campaign and much of the pre-season tour due to a knee injury. He played just 30 minutes of football during the friendlies.
The Scotland international's torrid injury record during his time at the Emirates Stadium and his lack of football this summer could result in Arteta easing him back into action.
Takehiro Tomiyasu and Fabio Vieira were not involved in any of Arsenal's friendlies this summer despite being part of the squad for the US tour.
They could hence miss out on a starting spot for the game against Crystal Palace.
"Three out of four are gonna be training this afternoon if everything goes well hopefully they are going to be in the squad. Hopefully we are going to start to recover because they missed a lot of minutes and time in pre-season and they are really important players for us," said Arteta as per Football.london.
The Spanish tactician also revealed that the club are unlikely to rush Tierney and Tomiyasu into action given their recent injury struggles and to avoid any future problems.
"Hopefully no and the reason they have those injuries are for different reasons and probably because the squad didn't enable them to fully recover. What I can tell you is that those two players are so willing to contribute to the team."
Kieran Tierney, Takehiro Tomiyasu & Fabio Vieira will all take part in Arsenal first-team training today.
Emile Smith Rowe is the only player not available. #afc
Arsenal possess ready-made back-ups for Tomiyasu and Tierney in the form of Cedric Soares and Oleksandr Zinchenko. The Portuguese right-back and Ukrainian left-back are expected to start against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.
Arsenal could sign one more player before the close of the summer transfer window
Arsenal have enjoyed an incredible transfer window thus far as they have been able to address their problems and sign some marquee players this summer. The club have added Gabriel Jesus, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Fabio Vieira, Marquinhos, and Matt Turner to bolster their attack, defense, and strength in depth.
However, the Gunners are yet to sign a top-quality midfielder to play alongside Thomas Partey at the center of the park next season. As per The Sun, the north London club are expected to make a move for Leicester City star Youri Tielemans in the coming weeks.
Leicester are reportedly expecting a bid from Arsenal for Youri Tielemans to come at the end of the transfer window
https://t.co/2umO9n1IBL
The Belgian has been one of the Foxes' standout players over the last couple of years. He enjoyed an impressive campaign last season, scoring six goals in 32 Premier League games.
His vision, creativity, and tenacity make him the ideal transfer target for Mikel Arteta. The addition of a top-quality box-to-box midfielder could make Arsenal one of the favorites to finish in the top four.