Mikel Arteta officially rules five Arsenal players out v Leicester, "world-class" star doubtful

Arsenal have suffered injury and suspension woes galore over the past month, with some important players being sidelined for what was a tough period of games. The Gunners' Premier League schedule saw them face Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City away from home in successive weeks, whilst an away trip to Serie A side Atalanta was sandwiched in between those clashes. But a well-fought 1-0 win in the north London derby alongside two draws in Italy and the north-west saw the Gunners emerge with pride - and with players returning, Arteta will be over the moon, especially with his players edging closer to a return.

Premier Injuries founder Ben Dinnery posted about Raya's situation, quoting Arteta when the Spaniard was asked if compatriot Raya - dubbed world-class - would return in time for the visit of Leicester on Saturday afternoon.

Arsenal's Premier League statistics - Divisional ranking, 2024/25 season

Stats

Output

Squad rank

Goals scored

8

=6th

Goals conceded

3

2nd

Shots taken per game

10

18th

Shots conceded per game

18

19th

xG

7.32

=13th

Arteta began his press conference via an update on the status of his first-choice goalkeeper, before going into detail about new back-up goalkeeper Neto, who signed on loan from Bournemouth on deadline day, saying (via Football London):

"We have to wait another 24 hours. We have to wait 24 hours to see if it’s looking good or not that good.

"It’s about a player being fit and available or not. When we have that clarity for Leicester we will make that decision tomorrow.

"We had to react quickly with the departure of Aaron [Ramsdale]. We had him [Neto] on our list for a few years. We believed he was the right player, because he was in the Premier League and had experience, and we can put him in in the right moment."

The post from Dinnery on X (formerly Twitter) further states that Jurrien Timber trained on Friday, and will be fine to welcome Leicester to the Emirates, whilst White has been nursing a knee issue - but his inclusion is 'likely' with Arsenal ready to welcome back what is their first-choice back-line with William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes the usual pairing at centre-back.

One absentee will be new recruit Mikel Merino, who was injured by Gabriel in a freak training incident in his first session with the Gunners, but he 'could' return before the international break.

GIVEMESPORT Key Statistic: Arsenal have yet to lose in all competitions this season after seven games.

All in all, they are joined by midfielder Martin Odegaard, who is recovering from an ankle injury sustained whilst playing for Norway in the Nations League earlier in the month, alongside Oleksandr Zinchenko, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Kieran Tierney - whilst Leandro Trossard will be return after serving his suspension following his red card against Manchester City last Sunday against Bolton.

Arsenal do have an easier set of fixtures coming up in the Premier League on paper, with Leicester and Southampton at home back to bak over the next week - before an away trip to Bournemouth after the international break will set them up well after eight games.

Their injured stars will be on their way back from injury after the international break - and in good timing, with Liverpool, Newcastle and Chelsea all coming in the league alongside a tough Champions League tie against Inter Milan.

If they can course through those games, the Gunners should have no qualms heading into Christmas as one of the better sides equipped to win the Premier League title come the end of the season.