Arsenal head into their Premier League clash with Sunderland this weekend carrying an unbeaten record across all competitions, but manager Mikel Arteta must navigate a familiar set of defensive concerns as he prepares his squad for the Stadium of Light on Saturday.
The reigning champions arrive on Wearside fresh from a hard-fought 1-0 win over Napoli in the Champions League on Wednesday, with captain Martin Odegaard scoring a standout goal in a performance that was largely dominant despite missed chances. That result kept Arsenal's perfect start to the campaign intact as focus now shifts back to domestic matters against a Sunderland side that has gone three matches without defeat.
Right-back Jurrien Timber remains one of the key figures Arteta is monitoring closely. The Dutch defender has made just a single appearance for the club since picking up a groin problem during the win over Everton back in March, with that solitary outing coming as a substitute in the Champions League final defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in May. A subsequent setback ruled him out of the World Cup with the Netherlands, and he has not featured for Arsenal in any competition so far this season.
Despite that lengthy absence, Timber has returned to full training in recent weeks and was included in the travelling party for the trip to Naples, although he did not feature against Napoli. Arteta struck an optimistic tone regarding the defender's fitness ahead of last weekend's victory over Chelsea, describing him as being in strong physical condition.
"Jurrien is in really good condition at the moment, he's been a few weeks on the pitch and has been training with us, so he's in a really good place," Arteta said. "We will decide [on his involvement on Sunday] after training [on Saturday]."
There remains a possibility that Arteta could opt to ease Timber back into action during the Carabao Cup third-round tie against Ipswich next week rather than rushing him into the starting XI at Sunderland, particularly with a challenging away fixture at Brighton following before the international break provides a longer pause in the schedule.
William Saliba's situation appears more complicated. The centre-back has yet to feature this season after aggravating a back injury during France's run to the World Cup semi-finals over the summer. While surgery was avoided, Arsenal have indicated he faces an extended spell on the sidelines, with no clear timeline for his return.
"We don't really know the amount of weeks Wilo [Saliba] is going to be out because it's about a healing process and everything is a bit different - we know we have to respect certain timings," Arteta explained, having still included the defender in his squad for the Champions League league phase. "The progression has been really positive in the last few weeks, but we need to wait and see how that one reacts when we start to put some load into it."
Completing the list of absentees is Cristhian Mosquera, who had impressed as Saliba's replacement alongside Gabriel earlier in the season before suffering a muscular injury against Aston Villa. That issue kept him out of the matches against Chelsea and Napoli, during which new arrival Ezri Konsa stepped in impressively. However, Arteta has downplayed the severity of Mosquera's problem and the defender is expected to undergo a further assessment before the weekend.
Both Timber and Mosquera could potentially be available either for Saturday's trip to Sunderland or the following midweek Carabao Cup fixture at Ipswich, while Saliba's return is not expected until later in the year, possibly November or December.
Based on reporting from Standard Football.