Arsenal made their return from international duty in style on Saturday, beating North London rivals Tottenham 3-1 at the Emirates. Goals from Thomas Partey, Gabriel Jesus and Granit Xhaka all found the back of the net, cancelling out Harry Kane's first-half equaliser to take all three points.
It keeps the Gunners top of the table after eight games played, moving four points clear of Spurs and maintaining a one point gap over Manchester City. The hard work doesn't stop for Mikel Arteta though as the manager quickly turns his attention to the Europa League.
A home tie against Norwegian side Bodo/Glimt is next up in the group stages, with hopes that qualification can move one step closer with a win. With that said, football.london takes a look at the latest Arsenal injury news heading into the group stage tie.
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Emile Smith Rowe
Emile Smith Rowe is set to miss the remainder of 2022 as he begins his recovery after undergoing successful surgery to repair a damaged tendon in his groin. The 22-year-old has struggled to get into the side this season after suffering with injuries in pre-season and after the Manchester United game.
Mikel Arteta offered an update on the youngster and said: "We put all the alternatives on the table. We have tried some other (solutions) during the last few months and they haven’t really worked to the point where the player was comfortable and consistently available at his best to perform.
"Then we decided to take that route. We all thought it was the best decision and we’ll stick to it and move on. After a surgery, it’s very difficult to give a timeline."
Expected return date: January 2023
Mohamed Elneny
Mohamed Elneny is still suffering from a hamstring injury which he sustained against Fulham last month, which is likely to keep him out for a few months. Arteta has described the injury as 'long term', with the midfielder unlikely to return in the coming set of busy fixtures.
Expected return date: Unknown
Cedric Soares
As reported by football.london's Arsenal writer Kaya Kaynak, Cedric Soares has picked up a fresh injury that is likely to keep him out of action for a week or two. The Portuguese right-back had just returned from an injury that kept him out of the games against FC Zurich and Brentford, but he has suffered another setback. He is yet to feature so far this season for the Gunners.
Expected return date: Unknown
Martin Odegaard
The Arsenal captain suffered a calf issue that kept him out of action against Brentford, but he made his return to fitness for Norway during the international break. The playmaker played the majority of the North London Derby and is back to full fitness for Arteta to select again.
Takehiro Tomiyasu
Takehiro Tomiyasu has struggled to get into the Arsenal team this season, with Ben White making the shift to right-back that has kept the defender out of the side. While on international duty, the Japanese FA confirmed that he had made an early return to the club in a statement, claiming it was down to "club circumstances".
While there was no known injury, the Japan international was on the bench from the start of the Tottenham clash and came on late into the game.
Thomas Partey
Another who made the early return to Arsenal was Thomas Partey, who was meant to play Ghana's match against Brazil, but pulled out due to a knee problem. The midfielder came back to London, but was deemed fit enough to play in the North London Derby, though Arteta will be keen to ease him into action after.
Kieran Tierney
Left-back Kieran Tierney also came back to Arsenal early, suffering a head injury in Scotland's match against the Republic of Ireland. After being assessed, the defender was deemed fit enough to be involved in the squad, coming from the bench to feature in the North London Derby.
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