Mikel Arteta issues triple early injury update ahead of Arsenal vs PSG and makes 'hold' admission

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has provided a triple injury update ahead of his side’s Champions League clash with Paris Saint-Germain on April 29. The Gunners now have a genuine shot at winning the Champions League for the first time having progressed to the semi-finals.

Arteta’s men beat Real Madrid convincingly over two legs, winning 5-1 on aggregate, and they did it without having a striker available. The Gunners now face PSG in the final four, first at home and then in Paris, battling for the privilege to face either Inter Milan or Barcelona in Munich.

Arsenal still have games to play in the Premier League, but without a realistic chance of winning the title, the countdown will already be underway to that first leg in April 29. A couple of weeks before that game, Arteta has offered some early injury news, asked specifically whether some of his players will be back for the game.

Asked about striker Kai Havertz, who has been out since February, initially thought to have been out for the season, Arteta said: “Semi-finals? I think that's too close. But if I have to bet on him earlier than expected, I would say yes. The way he works every day in that gym, pushing everybody, I don't think you can hold him much longer.”

The Arsenal boss also offered an update on Riccardo Calafiori, who has been out over recent weeks, expected to return soon, and Jorginho, who was injured last weekend. He added: “Jorginho is not going to be available yet, he's still struggling with that incident. And Riccardo as well probably is not going to be available.” On Jorginho’s chances or returning for the first leg, he continued: “That's probably a question for the doctor, it's quite a specific and difficult matter. So I will leave that to the club to make an analysis.”

On Calafiori’s availability for that game, Arteta said: “If everything goes well, I think so. Maybe a little bit earlier, so let's see. He's on the pitch already, he's done quite a lot of stuff and we just need to make the right steps now to make sure that when he's back he's in a good place to perform.”

Arsenal will once again play at home in the first leg, and while they showed what damage they can do in the first leg in the last round, Arteta admits he would have preferred to play away first. He admitted: “Yeah, my preference has always been to play the second game at home. But it's what we have at the moment. So learn from it, see what the advantages are and the opportunities where they are. I think if any of you watched any football yesterday in European leagues, in the second leg it's absolutely madness. You can go anywhere. So it's great to learn as well about these kinds of scenarios and why these things happen, because it can be very useful for us.”

The first leg will take place at the Emirates Stadium on April 29, and the second at Parc des Princes on May 7.

Your next Arsenal read, PSG vs Arsenal: Ticket prices and dates for UCL semi-final