'It is unbelievable' - Mikel Arteta issues Arsenal fitness update as 10 ruled out for Bournemouth friendly

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has issued a fitness update as his side prepare for their first Stateside friendly. The Gunners take on Premier League rivals AFC Bournemouth in Los Angeles on Wednesday evening (US time) and fans will get to see their team in action, albeit without many of the Euro 2024 and Copa América stars.

The Gunners will also look to make new signings over the coming weeks, meaning the team that starts against Bournemouth could be pretty different to the one that starts the new Premier League season on August 17. Arsenal will also be without Takehiro Tomiyasu who, along with Kieran Tierney (hamstring), has had to stay home after picking up a knee injury.

Asked about the injury during a press conference in the USA, Arteta said: “It is unbelievable, because the kid works so hard. He had an incident in training this week and we don't know yet the extent of that [knee] injury but as a precaution we kept him [in England]. We'll see what happens.” Arsenal will be without a number of their Euro 2024 stars for the whole of their USA tour. Gabriel Magalhaes, Gabriel Martinelli and Kai Havertz won’t join until July 25, while those who reached the semi-finals and final unavailable until later in the summer. That includes the likes of Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice, Aaron Ramsdale, David Raya and William Saliba.

With a late start to pre-season, Arteta was asked whether the five players could miss the Premier League opener in less than a month’s time. He replied: “I do not think so. Let’s see what condition they come back in. All of the messages I have got from them, they are really excited to come back and have a great season again. I do not expect anything else.”

One player Arsenal fans will be excited to see more of is Jurrien Timber. The Dutchman was signed last summer only for him to pick up a serious knee injury during the first game of the new season, keeping him out for the whole campaign.

“He is so willing, you can see that in his body language and the way he acts,” Arteta said of the defender and his progress. “He has worked so hard, I think he is in a really good place at the moment. We are going to have to manage him now in the next few weeks, especially because the load he has been able to do in the last few months compared to the next two weeks is very different, but we are very excited.”

He added: “Obviously he had his moments. It is not easy to come to a big club like here and start to set expectations with his performances and then on day one in the Premier League you are out for the season. But mentally he is a really tough boy. He has a great environment around him and hopefully that will make him a better player. He is a leader. He loves to be on show and a big presence in everything that we do. He is very vocal and extremely gifted technically. He is a great addition to the team.”