Mikel Arteta's Arsenal Boosted by Return of Key Players for Man City Showdown

Arsenal head into the Community Shield with their hand suddenly much stronger.

Mikel Arteta confirmed that Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka and Martin Zubimendi are all set to be available for Sunday’s clash with Manchester City in Cardiff, as the Premier League champions and FA Cup holders meet to raise the curtain on the new season.

All three have rejoined full training after extended breaks following a gruelling summer in North America, where England reached the World Cup semi-finals and Spain went on to lift the trophy.

“They will be available,” Arteta said on Friday, speaking about Rice, Saka and Zubimendi. “They trained with us today, they will train tomorrow. If they are in the condition we expect them to be, they will be involved.”

That is exactly what Arsenal wanted to hear before facing a City side now led by former Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca.

Saka and Rice back early and refreshed

Saka had originally been due to report back on Monday. Instead, he cut his holiday short and returned on Saturday, alongside Spain goalkeeper David Raya, giving Arteta valuable extra days with two of his most important players.

Saka spent much of the second half of last season nursing an Achilles problem, while Rice revealed during the World Cup that neural pain in his hamstring had troubled him since Christmas. The midfielder also battled a calf issue and illness as the campaign wore on.

Arteta believes the break has done its job.

“We haven’t noticed anything,” he said. “They have individual plans. Through the time they had with the national team they’ve been trying to evolve those issues and they have improved.

“In the rest period that they had, they both had specific programmes for themselves. They’ve been doing those and so far what I saw the last two or three days, it was really good.”

Spain midfielder Zubimendi, fresh from winning the World Cup, has also slotted back into the group and is in contention to feature against City.

Depth returns, but key absences remain

Eberechi Eze, Noni Madueke and Mikel Merino are back from their post-World Cup breaks as well. All three featured in Wednesday’s pre-season draw with Como, as did Raya, giving Arsenal’s squad a far more complete look than it had earlier in the summer.

There are, though, significant absentees.

William Saliba faces an extended spell out with a long-term back issue. The problem, which worsened during the World Cup, does not require surgery but has ruled the defender out for the foreseeable future and leaves a sizeable hole at the heart of Arsenal’s defence.

Jurrien Timber will also miss the Community Shield. The versatile defender has been hampered by a persistent groin injury since March, one that cost him a place at the World Cup and restricted him to only a brief appearance off the bench in the Champions League final in May.

Arteta described Timber as still “weeks away” earlier in the week, and that timeline has not shifted, even if the tone around his recovery is more upbeat.

“[He is] progressing really well,” Arteta said. “He’s on the pitch, we're ramping up now certain actions, especially the volume and the load.

“I think he’s on a good trajectory but still a few weeks to go."

Asked if Timber could make it back before the international break next month, Arteta would not commit.

“I don’t know. We have to wait and see.

“He needs to start to train with the group in the next week or so hopefully and then see how he progresses from there.

“But obviously it’s been a long-term issue and we want to make sure that every step that we take is the right one. He’s such an important player for us.”

So Arsenal go to Cardiff without Saliba and Timber, but with Rice, Saka and Zubimendi ready to step back into the fold. For a team desperate to land an early blow on City, that feels like a significant shift in the balance of this season’s opening statement.