Arsenal star returning from injury will find it hard to displace player Mikel Arteta says is a 'great example'

Arsenal have been handed an injury boost ahead of their upcoming clashes with Fulham, Atletico Madrid and Crystal Palace, but the player will have to prove himself. A busy period now approaches for the Gunners, who are preparing to return from the international break on Saturday when they face Fulham.

Mikel Arteta’s men face Atletico Madrid on Tuesday, Crystal Palace four days later and Brighton in the Carabao Cup just three days after that. In fact, there is a mid-week game every week for Arsenal until the next international break, which comes after the November 8 clash with Sunderland.

Arsenal already know they will be without Martin Odegaard until November, with the Norway international having suffered a knee injury that will keep him sidelined. But in better news, summer signing Piero Hincapie is set to return after a spell out.

Arteta predicted recently: “He will be available after the international break. We've been trying to do everything as fast as possible. But this came too fast, and now we have the international break, and hopefully after that, he will have a couple of sessions with the team and [be] ready to go.”

According to Sky Sports, that prediction has proved correct, with the defender having returned to training on Thursday, with the players now back at base ahead of Saturday’s clash with Fulham.

Hincapie could struggle for minutes

Whether Hincapie can earn a place in Arteta’s plans remains to be seen, with Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba locking down the two centre-back spots, but Arsenal are going to have to rotate significantly over a busy next few weeks if they want to avoid the risk of injuries racking up.

Arsenal spent big to add depth to key areas over the course of the summer, and it would be wise for Arteta to use it wisely as the winter sets in and the workload is increased. Hincapie hasn’t made one league appearance to date - playing once in the Champions League - but if he can stay fit, he should see game time, albeit he will have to compete with Cristhian Mosquera, who has been excellent as the main replacement at centre-back so far in Hincapie’s absence.

Arteta said last month after a win: “It's not easy to adapt to the league, to adapt to a new way of playing, but Mosquera is a great example. I think what he did against Liverpool, being thrown out there after three minutes at Anfield in your first exposure in the Premier League, is very difficult to do.

“I think he was superb today again, and the rest were the new ones. So, again, let’s use that, learn from them. They are giving us a lot of information at the moment to make sure we use it in the right way.”

Mosquera has surprised everyone with how ready he has been to play and compete at a high level in the Premier League, and already with good performances on tape, he may well be ahead of Hincapie until the latter gets time and minutes to prove he is more worthy of selection.

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