Mikel Arteta has provided an update on the fitness of defensive trio Jurrien Timber, Ben White and Cristhian Mosquera.
Speaking during Friday’s presser, Arteta was first asked about the likelihood of White being involved in Arsenal’s trip to his former club Brighton on Saturday, and he feels the England defender should be ready to go.
“They are all good, we have another training session this (Friday) afternoon, so very positive about everybody,” he said on arsenal.com.
As well as White, the boss said that Timber,Mosquera and Piero Hincapie are all progressing well and could be involved in Saturday’s game.
“We have another session, they are all willing to be part of it to try to make sure they are fit.”
With a large squad to choose from, the boss has been balancing new signings with existing squad members, which has seen several players deployed in multiple positions.
Eberechi Eze started on the left against Ipswich Town on Tuesday night, and Mikel was impressed with what he saw.
“He’s always played there in his career, that’s where all his biggest moments in his career and the highlights of his career have come.
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“I think it’s a place that he feels very, very, very comfortable. He can occupy different spaces, but that’s the space that generally he has created big moments for previous clubs as well to win matches.”
Eze will be one of several first team players heading off to join their national team after the trip to Brighton on Saturday, with a newly extended international break seeing the men’s side out of action until October 10.
While this creates a significant change to the early-season schedule, Arteta is keeping an open mind on how it will play out.
“Let’s see how it pans out,” he said, “I think every national team is different.
“Some play in Europe, and others travel the world for two-and-a-half weeks, so we have to wait and see how it goes.”
