The nine Arsenal injury questions Mikel Arteta must answer ahead of Bournemouth

Arsenal have a number of injury concerns going into Saturday's clash with Bournemouth

Arsenal finally return to Premier League action this weekend after a two-week break due to the international break.

The Gunners have not played since the 3-1 victory over Southampton on October 5, with Mikel Arteta's side travelling to Bournemouth on Saturday. As Manchester City and Liverpool are both in action on Sunday, Arsenal know a win will propel them to the top of the league table.

The north Londoners may go into the clash against the Cherries without a number of first team stars due to injury, however. Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Martinelli are perhaps the main concerns ahead of the match at Vitality Stadium.

Saka limped off during England's Nations League loss to Greece with a suspected muscle injury, Havertz did not join up with his Germany teammates due to a knee issue and Martinelli complained of pain in his calf while away with Brazil. The injury concerns do not stop there, however.

Martin Odegaard remains out as he continues to recover from a foot injury, while Kieran Tierney is still suffering from a hamstring injury picked up at Euro 2024. Oleksandr Zinchenko, Ben White and Jurrien Timber all missed the clash against Southampton but are understood to be either back in training or close to returning to training.

READ MORE: Erling Haaland issues public apology after Arsenal Martin Odegaard replacement decision

READ MORE: Stan Kroenke urged to green light £100m striker transfer to complete dream Arsenal squad

The final fitness concern is Thomas Partey, who did not join up with the Ghana squad due to "medical issues". All in all, that means Arteta has nine players who he must check up on ahead of the match against Bournemouth.

The Spaniard will provide the latest Arsenal injury news at his pre-match press conference on Friday and we will likely get more clarity on the injury front throughout the day. Training images may also provide a hint as they will reveal who has and who hasn't trained.

Whoever Arteta has available come Saturday, the Arsenal boss knows his squad must be fully focused to come away with all three points. "To come into the Premier League and do what he’s done, huge credit to him, the coaching staff and the players obviously," Arteta said on Andoni Iraola in May.

"They had a difficult start, they kept going with what they believed in and huge credit to him. It’s unbelievable what they’ve done in the manner that they’ve done it as well which is, in my opinion, very important as well. Congratulations because it’s a fantastic achievement."

Arteta added: "Credit to him, he has stuck with his beliefs, he’s a really good coach, a great person and I’ve known him since we were very little and I wish him all the best."

Join the football.london Arsenal WhatsApp channel

Join our Arsenal WhatsApp channel and get all the latest breaking news, opinion, podcasts and in-depth stories from football.london's dedicated Arsenal writers straight to your phone!

By following this free service you will be the first to know the news from the Emirates Stadium as it happens, when it happens.

To join our dedicated Arsenal channel, all you have to do is click this link and you can join thousands of others following our Gunners coverage!

If you're curious, you can check out our privacy policy here.