Arsenal could reportedly be handed a major injury boost with the news that Oleksandr Zinchenko and Thomas Partey are set to step up their efforts to return to full fitness so they can be involved for the Gunners’ next game against Sheffield United.
Mikel Arteta’s side have coped remarkably well despite a number of injuries recently, with the likes of Gabriel Jesus, Emile Smith Rowe, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Fabio Vieira also missing a lot of games, while Jurrien Timber has missed almost the entire season.
Zinchenko and Partey coming back would be very welcome news for Arsenal, and the Evening Standard report that the duo are doing what they can to be able to play for the team for next Monday’s clash against Sheffield United.
Arsenal would surely benefit from having more options to rotate at the moment, as their only recent slip up came in last week’s midweek Champions League trip to Porto, so being able to occasionally rest a big name like Declan Rice and have Partey available to stand in for him could really change the dynamic of their season.
Zinchenko, meanwhile, offers quality on the ball that Jakub Kiwior doesn’t quite have, even if the Poland international has performed really reliably while the Ukraine international has been out.
Can Arsenal and Liverpool cope with injury troubles in title race with Man City?
Arsenal aren’t the only ones with injury problems, with Liverpool going into yesterday’s Carabao Cup final without Alisson, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez, Dominik Szoboszlai and Diogo Jota, while Ryan Gravenberch then went off injured during the game.
Remarkably, the Reds were still able to grind out a 1-0 win over Chelsea at Wembley, and these teams will have to hope their injury-hit squads don’t end up costing them when they’re up against a juggernaut like Man City for the title.
In fairness, Pep Guardiola’s side haven’t exactly had a clean bill of health this season either, with Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland both missing a lot of games, though their squad means they’re better-placed than most to deal with a few key players being out.