‘Time to Heal’—Mikel Arteta Provides Latest Saliba, Timber Injury Update

Arsenal are still going to be without starting defenders Jurriën Timber and William Saliba well into the new Premier League season, following Mikel Arteta’s latest update on the injured pair.

Timber missed the World Cup with the Netherlands because of an ongoing groin problem that he first suffered almost five months ago. His appearance off the bench in May’s Champions League final is his only appearance of any kind since March.

But while Timber, who is Arteta’s preferred right back when healthy, has been a member of Arsenal’s preseason squad, the manager has revealed the Dutchman is “still weeks away” from returning to the pitch. There is no set timeframe, but with Arsenal’s title defense beginning with a Friday night visit from Coventry City on Aug. 21, and four more league fixtures scheduled before the September international break in six weeks’ time, a return before October could be a stretch.

“I cannot be very precise with [Timber’s return schedule],” Arteta told reporters. “Jurriën is progressing really well. He’s on the [training] pitch and doing quite a lot right now but is still weeks away [from playing a match]—I cannot tell you how [many weeks].”

Saliba did go to the World Cup, but it is a back injury aggravated in France’s semifinal defeat to Spain last month which means he is out of contention. Arsenal confirmed around a week after that setback that the key defender is going to miss an “extended period.”

Now, Arteta has explained that “Willy is in rest mode” and has done “almost nothing” for the past weeks to avoid causing any further damage. “It’s going to take some time to heal.”

At this point, Saliba’s absence can be considered indefinite, which leaves a significant hole in the center of defense beside Gabriel—that Arsenal’s collapse during 2022–23’s Premier League title race is often attributed to Saliba’s untimely injury underlines his importance to the team.

Injury Concerns Explain Arsenal’s Hunt for Another Defender

Spurs captain Cristian Romero is linked. | Stu Forster/Getty Images

Cristhian Mosquera is stepping up again to plug the gap left by Saliba, while Timber’s absence creates a renewed need at right for Ben White, who has been linked with a move this summer.

Piero Hincapié is another option to to come in at center back, although the Ecuador international has generally been used as a left back given Riccardo Calafiori’s inconsistent availability.

The alarming nature of the team’s last two Arsenal preseason matches suggests the need for more, conceding six times against Real Betis and Borussia Dortmund. Mosquera was partnered by Hincapié for the Betis clash, and then the returning Gabriel against Dortmund.

To boost depth, the Gunners have been linked with Aston Villa’s Ezri Konsa for a number of weeks. There is also speculation about Sporting CP’s Iván Fresneda and Como talent Jacobo Ramón. Tottenham Hotspur captain Cristian Romero is another consideration that might be close to impossible to pull off, as Spurs view selling to Arsenal as a “non-starter.”

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