Arsenal tease £50m injury boost ahead of huge Man City and Newcastle United clashes
The Gunners have been without £50 million man Ben White since November due to injury.
Arsenal could be handed a major injury boost for upcoming fixtures against Manchester City and Newcastle United with manager Mikel Arteta today providing an update on the fitness of defender Ben White.
The full-back has been out of action for the Gunners since mid November and has been a huge miss in their stuttering title chase. White's last outing came in the 1-1 draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
Speaking in November, Arteta said: "Ben White is going to be out for months, unfortunately. It's been different kinds of struggles, never the same thing.
"We had to make a decision, it hasn't been improving in the last few weeks. We know Ben is going to push every boundary, but it got to a point where we had to protect the player.
"We had to make a decision, it hasn't been improving in the last few weeks. We know Ben is going to push every boundary, but it got to a point where we had to protect the player. We have to see how he reacts post-surgery, I don't expect it to be half a year but I can't say exactly how long it will be."
Mikel Arteta provides Arsenal injury update
A fit-again Jurrien Timber has done a fine job in the right-back role but, with fixtures coming thick and fast for Arteta, strength in depth will be essential to continue fighting on all fronts. Arsenal travel to Wolves in Premier League action on Saturday afternoon before midweek Champions League action against Girona.
There is then the big league meeting with Manchester City on February 2 before another huge fixture in the Carabao Cup semi-final against Newcastle United, with a 2-0 scoreline to reverse. Speaking at a press conference on Friday, Arteta confirmed that White would miss out against Wolves but that his return to full first team training is imminent.
He said: “Ben White recovery, very good. He hasn’t trained with the team yet but I think he’s very close. I think he will be with us very soon”.
Arsenal have also been sweating over injuries to William Saliba and Myles Lewis-Skelly as Arteta faces somewhat of a defensive crisis. However, the Gunners boss confirmed that those two stars have not been definitively ruled out of this weekend's trip to Molineux.
He said: "With Myles it’s nothing serious, it will be having a meeting with medical staff. With Willy something similar as well they should be in for next week, this week we’ll see how it goes."
Kieran Tierney close to Celtic agreement
Arteta fielded Timber in the centre-back role against Aston Villa with Jakub Kiwior coming in to play against Dinamo Zagreb. The Gunners are also without Takehiro Tomiyasu, who is a long term absentee. Kieran Tierney is still an Arsenal player but is on the verge of signing a deal to Scottish Premiership giants Celtic.
It had been rumoured that Tierney could make that move in January but fresh reports this week suggest that the defender has signed a pre-contract agreement with the Glasgow club. That means he will complete the season at the Emirates Stadium before moving to Celtic at the expiry of his contract.
Arsenal also have Thomas Partey and Jorginho coming towards the end of their contracts and able to hold similar discussions with clubs. When asked about those potential deals this month, Arteta said: “It's close communication with them, what their idea is, what they want to do, and what are their intentions.
"All the players that are here, they want to focus on performing and impacting the team and if something happens there then we will assess it.