Mikel Arteta handed huge Arsenal injury boost ahead of Atalanta Champions League clash

Arsenal face Atalanta in the Champions League on Thursday night and the squad have been training ahead of the league phase opener

Mikel Arteta has been handed a huge injury boost ahead of Arsenal's Champions League clash with Atalanta on Thursday night.

The Gunners are due to fly to Italy on Wednesday afternoon ahead of their league phase opener, with the squad training at Sobha Realty Training Centre beforehand. Riccardo Calafiori was among the group who took part in the open training session, as seen by football.london.

The Italian missed the North London Derby win at the weekend due to a calf injury picked up on international duty but is now expected to make the trip to Italy. Bukayo Saka also trained as normal despite limping off against Tottenham on Sunday. It's understood the Englishman was only suffering from cramp, however.

Elsewhere, Martin Odegaard and Mikel Merino were not spotted training with their teammates in north London as they continue to recover from ankle and shoulder injuries respectively. Oleksandr Zinchenko and Takehiro Tomiyasu were also not seen training with the group. Kieran Tierney, who continues his recovery from a hamstring injury picked up at the Euros, was also absent.

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With five first team stars missing, a number of youngsters joined the group to make up the numbers. Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly, who have trained regularly with the first team this campaign, were in attendance, as were Zane Monlouis, Nathan Butler-Oyedeji and Josh Robinson.

Arsenal will play eight league phase matches in the Champions League this campaign, with the top eight teams automatically going through to the knockout round. After Atalanta Arsenal welcome PSG to Emirates Stadium so Arteta will be keen to secure three points in Italy. The Gunners will also play games against Shakhtar, Inter, Sporting CP, Monaco, GNK Dinamo and Girona.

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