Arsenal early injury news and return dates as 3 already ruled out for Tottenham clash

Arsenal are now on international break following a frantic start to the season that has seen them pick up seven points from a possible nine. The Gunners are two points behind leaders Manchester City and Liverpool, although they have had a tougher start to the season, facing Champions League-bound Aston Villa and a good-looking Brighton.

Mikel Arteta’s men face North London rivals Tottenham in their first game back after the break, as well as Atalanta in the Champions League and Manchester City in a huge Premier League clash. As those clashes come into focus, we have rounded up all the latest injury news concerning Arsenal.

Declan Rice (Suspended)

Possible return date: Thursday, September 19 vs Atalanta Rice picked up two yellow cards and a sending off against Brighton over the weekend. He will serve a one-game ban against Tottenham after the break and return for the Champions League clash with Atalanta.

Mikel Merino

Possible return date: Unknown

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has said: “It’s very unfortunate. Yesterday (Thursday) he had a collision and he’s got a shoulder injury and it looks like he’ll be out for a few weeks. It was in his first session with us. It’s really bad luck, we were all excited, everything was looking good.

“He landed on the floor, Gabriel fell on top of him and it looks like he has a small fracture. He was in so much pain, we have to see. He’ll do more tests which will have more conclusive answers.”

It’s unclear when Merino will return with some outlets reporting it could be at the end of September, while others believe at least mid-October. We will mark this as unknown until Arteta provides a clearer picture.

Takehiro Tomiyasu

Possible return date: Saturday, September 28 vs Leicester City

Tomiyasu has a knee injury that will keep him out of action until late September. Arteta said of the injury at the time: “I think it will take weeks on that one, unfortunately, and poor Tomi because of everything that he does. But he’s going to have to be patient and work through it because I think it’s going to take a few weeks.”

Gabriel Jesus

Possible return date: Sunday, September 15 vs Tottenham

Jesus picked up a groin injury recently with Arteta saying: "Unfortunately on Thursday in the training session, just at the end he felt something in his groin. We’ll need to assess him. We need to have an MRI scan to see, but he wasn’t available for the game."

Jesus is expected to return after the international break, in time for the derby.

Kieran Tierney

Possible return date: Sunday, September 15 vs Tottenham

Tierney is recovering from a hamstring injury he suffered at Euro 2024. He is expected to return after the international break, but the big question will be whether the full-back will be eligible to represent the Gunners in the Premier League. Tierney is not expected to be part of Arteta’s plans and the Premier League squad submission is due before the Tottenham game