Arsenal hoping for double injury boost to arrive at the perfect time for Mikel Arteta

Mikel Arteta could have four players return from injury for the Premier League clash against Nottingham Forest after the November international break. The Gunners have been plagued by absences this season with Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, William Saliba, Ben White, Leandro Trossard and Jurrien Timber all having missed some action.

Trossard, Saliba and Rice were only unavailable for one game due to suspension, though the latter is now dealing with a fitness issue. During the Premier League clash against Chelsea, both he and Saka were withdrawn because of injury which resulted in the Gunners duo pulling out of England duty.

Captain Martin Odegaard will also be at London Colney over the break despite returning from injury against Inter Milan in the Champions League before playing the full 90 minutes at Stamford Bridge that weekend. Niggling issues for White also mean the two-week pause has arrived at the perfect time, but that is no longer quite the case.

As football.london reported earlier this week, White has undergone a minor operation. There is no specified timescale on his return but it is certainly another major injury blow for Arteta and it has arrived in a position where issues have been prominent.

Like White, Timber has also missed a number of weeks but is currently available and will therefore likely switch flanks and be utilised at right-back going forward. That would mean Arteta is in need of a new player to be deployed at left-back with Oleksandr Zinchenko, Jakub Kiwior and Myles Lewis-Skelly as his options.

However, there are two players likely to be higher up in the pecking order that are eyeing imminent injury returns. Riccardo Calafiori has missed the last five games but the expectation is that he will return from a minor knee injury to possibly feature against Forest.

It is also hoped that Takehiro Tomiyasu can soon make another comeback from injury having suffered a setback earlier in the season which has resulted in him playing just five minutes of Premier League football this season. Given the issues he has faced though, it is very likely the Japan international will be eased back into action.

Arteta starting either of the two is not a foregone conclusion though, with another scenario an option that involves playing Thomas Partey at right-back and keeping Timber on the left. This would require Rice to be fit and though reports have suggested he has a broken toe, the midfielder and Saka being passed fit to face Forest seems likely.

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