Mikel Arteta has issued an update on the latest team news ahead of our Premier League clash with Manchester United at Emirates Stadium.
The boss was first asked about defensive duo Riccardo Calafiori and Piero Hincapie, who have both been out since the start of 2026, and their chances of making the matchday squad for Sunday’s game.
“We still have another training session,” Mikel said at the Sobha Realty Training Centre, “so we’ll see tomorrow, after that, to assess everybody and make a decision, first of all in the squad.”
There was more positive news on the fitness front, with our squad emerging from a midweek win over Inter Milan with “no issues reported.”
The boss was also asked about returning forward Kai Havertz and where we was in his recovery process.
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“Well, he is very close. Obviously, he has been out for a long time, almost a year, for different reasons, and now we have to be very smart in the manner that we manage that load, the minutes.
“I am sure in the next few weeks he is going to play in minutes. I cannot tell you which competition because that will depend as well on the game context, and it is a context that is positive to throw him in or not with his qualities.
“It is great that we have him. We can use him in different positions. We will see him in different positions and we are really happy to have him.”
With Kai and Gabriel Jesus both returning to the squad over the festive period, Mikel faces a potential selection headache in attack with Viktor Gyokeres also available.
“Yes, we were waiting for that,” he said, “with the amount of games that are coming up, they’re all going to have opportunities and minutes, obviously, so it’s great to have them back and especially to have them in good form.”
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