Arsenal have received a potentially significant fitness boost ahead of their opening Champions League fixture against Napoli, with defender Jurrien Timber edging closer to a first appearance of the season.
The Gunners squad trained in an open session at the club's Sobha Realty training centre before departing for Naples later on Tuesday. Timber, who underwent minor groin surgery over the summer, has yet to feature competitively this term but has now stepped up his training workload in recent weeks.
The Dutch international's setback dates back to mid-March, when he suffered the original injury. His sole appearance since then came as a substitute in the Champions League final defeat to Paris Saint-Germain. Despite missing out on Arsenal's squad for the weekend win over Chelsea, Timber has been reintegrated into first-team sessions and is reportedly pushing to be involved in some capacity against Napoli.
He took part in Tuesday morning's training before a final call was expected on whether he would be included in the travelling party for Italy. His potential involvement, even in a limited role, would represent a welcome lift for Mikel Arteta's side as they open their European campaign.
However, not all the injury news was positive for Arsenal. Defender Marc Guiu Mosquera remains a doubt for the trip after picking up a muscle problem during the recent match against Aston Villa. That issue was severe enough to rule him out of the Chelsea fixture, and he was absent from training again on Tuesday.
Arteta downplayed the severity of the injury after the Chelsea game, describing it as