Arsenal have received a triple injury boost ahead of tomorrow night’s Champions League last 16 first leg tie against Bayer Leverkusen.
The Gunners will travel to Germany hoping to extend their remarkable 100% record in Europe this season and will have the benefit of a near fully fit squad to choose from.
William Saliba missed Saturday’s FA Cup fifth round clash against Mansfield with the ankle injury which also ruled him out of last week’s narrow win over Brighton.
The France international, however, was spotted training at the Sobha Realty training centre on Tuesday morning and he is likely to regain his place in the starting XI alongside Gabriel Magalhaes who was rested at the weekend.
Declan Rice and Martin Zubimendi were also given a much needed breather for a game which turned out to be anything but straightforward against Nigel Clough’s men, but both were back on the training pitch this morning.
Mikel Arteta will no doubt have breathed a sigh of relief after both Leandro Trossard and Riccardo Calafiori were fit enough to take part in the session having both failed to complete 90 minutes against the Stags.
Trossard went off in the first half nursing what appeared to be an ankle injury, while Calafiori’s setback appeared to be more serious after he was seen gingerly clutching his hamstring.
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There was, however, still no sign of skipper Martin Odegaard who is struggling with a knee injury he sustained in last month’s draw against Brentford.
The Norway international featured in subsequent games against Wigan, Wolves and Tottenham, but has missed the last three matches with a reoccurrence of the setback he suffered attempting to prevent Keane Lewis-Potter from equalising.
Ben White, too, is still missing but with Marli Salmon now part of the first team squad Arsenal appear to be adequately stocked with defensive options.
Fellow teenager Max Dowman also impressed against Mansfield and earned rave reviews from his manager as well as teammate Eberechi Eze.
‘Max Dowman is very different to a lot of players, but he is someone that is confident,’ said Eze of the 16-year-old.
‘He believes in his ability a lot. He is a special player, but also a special person. You can see that he is maturing well and he’s a good guy. It’s fun to be around.
‘To be fair, that is the same with a lot of the players coming through the academy these days. Once they come to train with the first-team, they believe in themselves. It is a positive energy to be around.’
