Mikel Arteta expects Kai Havertz to be available for tomorrow’s clash with Brighton after the German recovered from the illness that sidelined him for the New Year’s Day win at Brentford.
The manager also suggested that the bug, which had swept through the squad, is now under control, with other affected players making progress.
“The ones with the illness, I think they’re going to be okay, hopefully. They will train today, and if everybody’s fine, they should be available,” said Arteta.
Amid rumours of a toe problem, Arteta has taken a cautious approach with Declan Rice, benching the England international for two of the last three games. With Bukayo Saka sidelined by a hamstring tear, it seems Arteta is being extra careful with key players who’ve shouldered heavy workloads.
“In his [Rice’s] case especially, he plays so much football. We had nine games in this period, in this month, and he had some niggles in the last few games, he had to come off, and yeah, we have to manage every player, and he’s not an exception for sure.”
Saka’s absence has been compounded by a knee injury to Raheem Sterling, but there’s positive news on the Chelsea loanee.
“He [Sterling] is starting to do some stuff on the pitch, so that’s great news,” said Arteta. “As quick as possible, we want him available. Let’s see how he progresses next week and then see if we get him available for the following week.”
On Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu, who are also dealing with knee issues, Arteta added:
“Ben is still a few weeks away, and Tommy has done some stuff on the pitch. Now it’s [a matter of] seeing how quickly he can progress and how he reacts, but hopefully [it’s] good.”
As for White’s potential return within a month, Arteta was cautiously optimistic: “It might be a possibility, but obviously he hasn’t done anything yet with the team. The knee looks good, he’s reacted really well in the first few weeks. Everything is going smoothly, and now he needs to start to load that knee and get through many more things that, up to now, he hasn’t been able to do.
“Hopefully, he’s good. His work ethic is unbelievable. Naturally, he’s a really gifted player.”
Good to hear about BW again
I don’t think we get the credit we deserve for our ability to cover these injuries.
Only a season ago, losing Ben White would have been catastrophic. But now, I forget he’s even injured.
We played Brentford away without our first choice CF, LWF and RB and brushed them aside. I’d love to see Liverpool try that.
Really excited to get Benjamin back though. Would love to peer inside arteta’s brain to discover what his first choice back four truly is.
Sorry. RWF.
I don’t forget Ben is injured when Timber is out for yellow cards, or when he needs some rest. I think it will be tough for him to replace Timber at this point as the first choice RB for the most important matches, but like Rice is getting rotated and rested, so will Timber when he has a capable backup (and White is much more than that) , and maybe even Saliba, so we could have a nice three man rotation for those two spots.
I like Timber a lot (how could you not?) but I’m not sure that a fully fit Ben White is not a better choice in the most important matches. I don’t think this is a case like Tierney, a fine player who we have clearly “outgrown.” White, with a million minutes played and almost certainly already carrying his knee injury, was brilliant as we won 15 of our last 17 last season–when we were arguably the best team in the world. Timber certainly looks more dynamic and driving right now–but think back to a fit Ben White, overlapping with Saka… Read more »
100%, it’s by no means clear cut that Timber is the better player right now, but he’s younger and probably still improving and his upside is higher whereas Ben is in his prime already. For me if JT with his physical qualities learns the mental and tactical part of the game as well as White has (which would be no small feat) he could turn into the best RB in the world.
Ben White hasn’t reached his prime yet.
You never know, some players are unique, but most players at 27 are in their prime.
He’d probably say it depends on the opposition, but if we assume Calafiori is the preferred LB (which I think is fair to assume, for most games), and Timber or White is the preferred RB, I believe Brentford was only the SECOND time this season he’s had his preferred back line available to him. To have the best defensive record in the league in those circumstances is amazing, in my opinion. And when you add in the Odegaard injury (and now Saka), to still be alive in the title chase (albeit with a lot of ground to make up) is… Read more »
The mythical Tomi is close to a return perhaps! Will be so pleased and such a boost if he can stay fit for the rest of the season
Fingers crossed but I am not banking on him to stay fit.
It just not a characteristic of him, and it is do sad.
Such a shame we can’t depend on him for at least 2 months fir je is such a good player.
Very unlucky.
It’d be great if he could stay fit finally. We had lost hope about Partey and now he’s been fit so far this season, perhaps Tomiyasu could follow the same route.
Miss Benny Blanco
Getting White back on the pitch will be massive, he has been missed for my opinion.
He’s our best White back.
Timber and White both exceptional defenders but IMO White links with Saka and Odegaard much better , seems more aware when to overlap
He’s played with them much longer so that tracks, Timber will get better at it too by his second season with us (last season doesn’t count). I agree they’re both world class imo.
If every team in the PL had a fully fit squad, ours would be by far the deepest. Only on the right wing are we a little lightweight. Although Nwaneri will grow into that role over the next few months, I’m sure.
We’ll be getting all our injured players back at the business end of the season, when everyone other team is starting to tire. If we can stay in the hunt until then I think we’ve got a brilliant chance at silverware.