Arsenal news: Arteta on ‘unbelievable’ Tomiyasu injury, Timber return

Arsenal head Mikel Arteta has called a knee wounded which has kept Takehiro Tomiyasu retired of nan club’s US circuit “unbelievable” but said he is “very excited” astir chap defender Jurrien Timber’s return from semipermanent anterior cruciate ligament damage.

Versatile Timber joined from Ajax for an first £34 cardinal successful June 2023, only to time off nan transportation successful agony during Arsenal’s opening crippled of nan play astatine location to Nottingham Forest.

The 23-year-old returned connected nan last astatine Emirates Stadium connected nan last time of nan run against Everton, and Arteta has described nan Netherlands imaginable arsenic “so willing” and “in a really bully place” up of nan caller season.

Timber wounded return

“He is simply a leader,” Arteta said of Timber. “He loves to beryllium connected show and a large beingness successful everything that we do. He is very vocal and highly talented technically. He is simply a awesome summation to nan team.

“It is not easy to travel to a large club, commencement to group expectations pinch his performances and then, connected time 1 successful nan Premier League, you are retired for nan season.

“But mentally, he is simply a really reliable boy. He has a awesome situation astir him and hopefully that will make him a amended player.

“We are going to person to negociate him now successful nan adjacent fewer weeks, particularly because nan load he has been capable to do successful nan past fewer months, compared to nan adjacent 2 weeks, is very different. But we are very excited.”

Arsenal transportation news: ‘Working hard’

Arteta lavished praise connected nan cognition of his players and nan strength of their training since their presence successful nan US, wherever they will play successful California against Bournemouth connected Thursday (3.30am BST) and Manchester United 3 days later (1am).

The Gunners besides look Liverpool successful Philadelphia connected August 1 (12.30am) earlier returning to England for location friendlies against Bayer Leverkusen connected August 7 (6pm) and Lyon 4 days later (2pm).

Full-back Tomiyasu is nan astir notable absentee. “He had an incident successful training this week and we don’t cognize yet nan grade of that, but arsenic a precaution we kept him [in England],” said Arteta. “It is unbelievable because nan kid useful truthful hard. We’ll spot what happens.

The Spaniard hopes to person made much signings by nan clip nan transportation model shuts astatine 11pm connected August 30.

“We cognize location are definite positions that we want to amended and springiness nan squad amended resources, particularly successful position of numbers, wherever we are very short,” said Arteta, adding that method head Edu and Arsenal’s committee are “working hard” connected imaginable targets.

“We will effort our champion but nan main point is to attraction connected falling successful emotion pinch nan players we person and make them better. There’s still a [long way] to spell successful nan window.”