The Arsenal team trained ahead of their Europa League group topper decider on Wednesday. The side face FC Zurich on Thursday knowing that a win will see them guarantee top spot.
Arsenal will be massively buoyed by the return of two key first-team assets and an injury boost to quell any fears for the Gunners faithful and Gareth Southgate’s England plans. However, it was not all positive with a regular European starter remaining out of the match preparations.
football.london was in attendance for the open training session at London Colney. There were numerous interesting points which are summarised below.
READ MORE: Arsenal get Bukayo Saka injury boost as Oleksandr Zinchenko trains ahead of FC Zurich clash
Saka and Zinchenko return
The big news of the afternoon is the presence of both Bukayo Saka and Oleksandr Zinchenko. A calf issue has kept Zinchenko out of action since the North London Derby at the start of last month.
His absence had been something of a mystery with little info regarding a timeline of his return provided by Mikel Arteta. There was a promise though that he would be back before the World Cup kicked off and with his attendance in training today that appears to be a promise that will be made good on.
Saka on the other hand was substituted against Nottingham Forest on Sunday after a series of bad kicks from left-back Renan Lodi. Reiss Nelson came on, scored twice and chipped in with an assist to lessen the impact of his fellow Hale End graduate’s early substitution.
Yet the 21-year-old jogged out to train this afternoon without issue. It appears Arteta was right to curb concern of any World Cup doubt and now it looks an inevitability that Saka will play against Chelsea on Sunday.
Matt Turner remains absent
The bad news of the afternoon was that Europa League regular Matt Turner remained out. He was absent from the previous fixture on the continent with PSV with what was described as a tight groin.
However, the issue has seemingly persisted and with the World Cup just weeks away the potential for him to be a doubt will only grow. Manchester City goalkeeper Zack Steffen is next in line who has been playing every week for Middlesbrough on loan.
The next few weeks of missing regular action could be crucial in USMNT Gregg Berhalter’s mind for the decision he makes for the tournament. Hopefully, the return timeline is short and that he is fit for the Carabao Cup match against Brighton where he would likely start if ready.
Sambi Lokonga’s benefit
Mohamed Elneny’s return to training comes as a benefit not just to the overall depth of the squad but to Belgian midfielder Sambi Lokonga. Lokonga has been played in the number six role to rotate for Thomas Partey.
However, he is far better at playing in the role occupied by Granit Xhaka. With Elneny out, the Swiss international has had to play most games but with his midfield partner back, and being suspended for this match, Lokonga and Elneny could be set to be paired together again.
Youth team mystery
One of the benefits of observing the open training sessions is seeing which youth stars will get a call-up to the senior squad. However, Mehmet Ali’s under-21s trained at the same time as the senior group making it trickier to predict who might get the call-up.
Regular participants have included Cătălin Cîrjan, Matt Smith and Bradley Ibrahim. However, Amario Cozier-Duberry and Khayon Edwards have also been given the senior matchday experience.
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