My Arsenal Blog

While the official team news when it comes to who will start tonight’s game against Wolverhampton Wanderers won’t be released until 6.15pm, Arsenal.com has provided fans with an update with regards to some players who are currently out through injury or suspension.

Many of them weren’t expected to make it back in time for the visit of Nuno Espirito Santo’s men, but it’s important to keep track of things like this as we move into what can only be described as the most hectic, and probably the most challenging, period of the year.

“Mohamed Elneny  .......Read more here.....

Mohamed Elneny has returned a positive test for Covid-19, The Athletic have relayed the claim from the Egyptian FA.

Apparently, the Arsenal man was tested several times before and his results were always negative, but a positive test came as he traveled with his teammates to face Togo away. He has now returned to Cairo and will have to self-isolate.

According to the government guidelines, an individual who has tested positive has to isolate for 10 days starting from the day the symptoms begin. In Elneny’s case, there are no symptoms yet so the 10-day period starts on the day of the test, which was presumably Monday. The game between Togo and Egypt is being played today (Tuesday).  .......Read more here.....

The unpopular international break is currently in full swing and a number of Arsenal players have traveled to different corners of the world. Some have remained behind, simply not called up by their respective national teams, or nursing injuries.

One of the latter group is Thomas Partey, who came off at halftime in Arsenal’s shocking defeat at home at the hands of Aston Villa before the break with a hamstring problem. He posted on Instagram to show support to his international teammates and praised Andre Ayew who netted twice in a 2-0 victory for Ghana over Sudan.  .......Read more here.....

Arsenal are set to face Dundalk at the Emirates in the second round of the Europa League group stages on Thursday. The Irish side, sitting third in the Irish Premier Division at the moment, suffered a 1-2 home defeat in their opener against Molde, while the Gunners beat Austrian Rapid in Vienna by the same scoreline.

Arsenal’s medical team have provided some fitness updates since the Premier League defeat against Leicester.

Rob Holding, who suffered a hamstring issue in the warm-up ahead of the game against Manchester City on October 17th, is progressing well with his recovery and should be back in training within a week, but he obviously won’t be available on Thursday.  .......Read more here.....

Having lost narrowly to Manchester City in the Premier League on Saturday, Arsenal are preparing for a trip to Vienna where they will take on Rapid in the opening round of this season’s Europa League campaign on Thursday. Meanwhile, let’s take around at some recent news reports concerning the club.

Holding injury

Rob Holding was pulled out of the starting line-up on Saturday due to an injury suffered in the warm-up process. The 24-year-old defender has had some serious issues during his career, and any sign of a problem is likely to cause worry for Mikel Arteta, especially given that he’s been on a fine run of form lately. He came close to leaving to join Newcastle United on loan during the summer transfer window, but the move eventually fell through.  .......Read more here.....

According to The Athletic, David Luiz could spend quite some time on the sidelines due to a neck problem, and the situation has affected the proposed loan move of Rob Holding to Newcastle United.

Luiz initially injured his neck in the Community Shield triumph over Premier League champions Liverpool and aggravated it further in training. He is now unable to take full part in the sessions and very likely to be left out of the squad for the opening league game of the season away to Fulham on Saturday. The injury is said to require special caution and at the moment it’s not possible to be precise in determining the length of his absence, but it could last six weeks.  .......Read more here.....

Gabriel Martinelli could miss the rest of the 2019/20 season through a knee injury he suffered in training, as reported exclusively by David Ornstein of The Athletic.

Apparently, the injury occurred on Monday, in a session the young forward managed to complete, but he reported the discomfort afterwards. The early signs point to meniscus damage, which, if confirmed, would almost certainly rule him out for the remaining part of the ongoing campaign. Martinelli underwent a scan on Tuesday, and the results are expected today (Wednesday).  .......Read more here.....

As Arsenal prepare to take on Olympiacos in the first leg of the Europa League round of 32 on Thursday, it has been confirmed that both Mesut Ozil and Lucas Torreira aren’t available for selection.

Ozil has been given permission not to travel for personal reasons, and while the club haven’t provided any further details, BBC report that they “understand” the attacking midfielder’s wife is expected to give birth to their first child soon. As for Torreira, the Uruguay international is currently ill and has been left at home for that reason, though if by some chance he recovers in time, he could yet fly to Athens to join the team for the match.  .......Read more here.....

Arsenal are set to resume the Premier League season when they take on Newcastle United at the Emirates on Sunday, following the winter break which reportedly did the team a lot of good. Be that as it may, head coach Mikel Arteta spoke to the press ahead of the game and provided some updates on the situation with injured players.

Left-back Kieran Tierney, who hurt his shoulder by falling awkwardly in the West Ham clash back in December, has been ruled out and will likely need a few weeks more. It was confirmed that he was back in training in Dubai, but it was restricted to strictly non-contact work which obviously means his shoulder is still too sensitive for him to play.  .......Read more here.....

Arsenal have been struggling much with fitness issues lately, especially in the defensive department. Calum Chambers it our for the rest of the season. Kieran Tierney and Sead Kolasinac have both been out recently, forcing Mikel Arteta to utilize young winger Bukayo Saka on the left defensive flank – but Saka picked up a knock too in the goalless draw away at Burnley last week. Even the newly signed Cedric Soares came from Southampton injured. Forward Reiss Nelson has now joined them all in the treatment room.  .......Read more here.....