Arsenal’s medical team report that Hector Bellerin, Kieran Tierney and Dinos Mavropanos are all ‘progressing well’ and will return to first team training in September.
The trio have all been working hard throughout pre-season and will likely play minutes with the club’s under-23s before making a return to Premier League action.
Bellerin has been out since January after undergoing surgery on his left knee. Having allowed Stephan Lichtsteiner and Carl Jenkinson to leave the club this summer, we’ve been relying on Ainsley Maitland-Niles to get us through the opening weeks of the season. While the England under-21 international is a perfectly capable right-back, it’ll be great to have the Spaniard back in action.
Tierney joined the club in August with a known groin issue and is yet to make his Arsenal debut. You can tell the club must be confident of his return because it sounds as though we’re on the verge of letting Nacho Monreal join Real Sociedad.
Mavropanos has had ongoing groin problems since he signed at the tail-end of the Wenger era. It remains to be seen whether Emery considers him a bonafide first team option this season.
In more good news, Rob Holding has been playing for the under-23s and looks set to compete for a first XI berth after the upcoming international break. He’s played behind-closed-doors games and a couple of Premier League 2 fixtures.
Emile Smith Rowe also completed 80 minutes for the under-23s against Everton on Friday and 90 minutes for the under-21s against Northampton Town on Tuesday night.
As far as we know, there are no new injuries ahead of Sunday’s North London derby.
Let not rush them back
Always good news to hear our player coming back for injuries.
Hope they will be slowly introduced to team to reduce the risk of re-injury
What you are actually saying is that, they should make sure that our players are coming back from and not for injury. I get that!
Tierney and Bellerin bombing up and down the flanks is a sight I’m looking forward to see.
Looking forward to our first choice defence and seeing what improvement that will make to the team’s overall performance.
This is what annoys me most about some pundits: they go on about Arsenal’s defence without any deference to our players out injured.
How would Liverpool, for example, cope without A.T-A, Robertson and maybe Gomez for a considerable period of time?
I believe the return of our full-backs and Holding will mark a drastic improvement in our fortunes. This, I think, will be largely because teams won’t attack us as much as they do now.
We’ll face fewer shots as a result.
Yeah I would be interested to know how many goals we let in with Rob in the team, as compared to those let in without him in the team!!!
I feel like Holding has been managed really well from this return. He has played a good few games for the under 23s, and will have the international break to continue his recovery. Hopefully after that he will be ready to start getting some first team competitive minutes!
Cant wait to have him and Bellerin back and see what Tierney is all about too!
By nsxt season, we could have Bellerin, Saliba, Holding and Tierney backline. At an average age of 22.7 then, that might be the youngest in the EPL.
I’m weirdly almost more excited about these two coming in than I am the return to full fitness of Pepe. Liverpool are such a nightmare to play against in no small part because of Trent and Robertson; if these two can emulate them to some degree it should improve our attacking efficiency no end. Not since 07/08 when Clichy and Sagna were in their pomp have we had solid fullbacks on both sides!
Sagna was such a straight killa! I miss that man
One of my top 3 players to have played for the club I think. Ran himself into the ground every game, only one of the only players that could handle Ronaldo for those two seasons he was tearing it up at United! That out ball from the goal kick was such a useful tool for relieving pressure too.
Defending. Crosses. Hair. Everything was on point.
Er… Monreal & Bellerin?
Hmm I guess. I love Monreal to bits, certainly one of the success stories of the past decade. But I don’t think he’s ever got to a point where I couldn’t envisage an upgrade, you know? Perhaps I’m being unfair..
Not even close to Clichy and Sagna
Sagna absolutely. But was Clichy not a liability? Couldn’t hold a defensive line. Was a sharp decline on Ashley Cole
That one season where both he and Sagna were in the PFA team of the year he was absolutely monstrous, comfortably the best lb in the league. Sadly it was clearly a flash in the pan rather than embedded ability.
Gael just became too cliché
Near enough every left back in the world would have been a decline from Cole
98 points here we come!!
It’s great to see Rob Holding being properly rehabilitated with multiple behind closed doors and PL2 games.
Back in the Wenger era he would have been rushed back much faster.
This is great news.Wins all round.
Now just need to mash the Spuds.
Crunch time for Emery this season. Top four is within reach of these players, down to the head coach to make it happen and prove he is the man to move us forward.
I’m sorry he can’t
Tierny recovery is good news and likely why we are OK with moving on Monreal. Bellerin return also very welcome. AMN is a strong asset but still has flaws to iron out and this should not be surprising considering his age. AGAIN, Rback IS his natural position now and he should continue to apprentice and push Bellerin. Mavropanos returning in is also important. And injury to Sokratis(or more likely a suspension) and we are at the moment left with Chambers and Sideshowbob (scary thought) with no real back up (Monreal going, Holding still some ways away) Even so, Mavro lacks… Read more »
What’s wrong with Chambers? He had a solid game against Newcastle, which is more than you can say for Luiz against Liverpool.