Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta believes that Bukayo Saka and Takehiro Tomiyasu could return for their London derby against Crystal Palace. The Gunners extended their lead over the chasing pack with a 1-0 win against Aston Villa before the international break. Aaron Ramsdale is set to miss out once again after he missed the last win and was forced to withdraw from the England squad. Saka tested positive for coronavirus and missed out on both friendlies for England.
“Bukayo is feeling good, he’s training today, hopefully, he is still feeling as he was yesterday,” Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta said about Bukayo Saka. “I don’t know how much he would have played (with England). Sometimes when a player is in a good moment, you don’t want to stop it. It’s what it is, he had Covid and we had to take him out of the national team. He had some time to rest and to recover, but he will be training in the next few days to again hit the form he was in.”
“I think it will be close. He’s been training more and more. He has the boys back now, so he will be joining some sessions this week, and let’s see how it is,” he added about Tomiyasu. “He had a recurring injury, but in the other half, which was strange and difficult to predict. He’s been through a lot in the last two years with all the Covid and the number of games that he’s played. The transition to a different league with the intensity, it’s completely different. So we can find the right reasons and hopefully don’t go through that situation again because – especially for him – it’s been tough. I think we have to protect our best players and that’s in the hands of the referee.”
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