Mikel Arteta is expecting Bukayo Saka to be back at the club soon and Gabriel to return from injury in the near future, but the Arsenal manager was not clear on when either would be available for selection.
Saka has been on holiday after his exploits for England at Euro 2020 over the summer, enjoying a well-earned break after the run to the final and the painful defeat on penalties to Italy.
Gabriel picked up a knee injury after the end of the Premier League season, before he was set to compete at the Olympics with Brazil, with the problem ruling him out of the Tokyo Games.
Neither were involved as the Gunners were beaten 2-1 by Chelsea in a friendly at the Emirates on Sunday afternoon, and Arteta was not entirely clear on when they will be back and available for selection.
On Saka, the Arsenal boss said: ‘He’s back very soon. He needed some holidays, he needed to be away.
‘He had an incredibly busy year and he will be back with us in the next few days. We’re looking forward to seeing him.’
Arsenal get their Premier League campaign underway on Friday 13 August and, while Saka will certainly be back and likely available for then, Arteta is not very confident about Gabriel.
‘We don’t know [whether he will be available for Brentford],’ said the Spaniard. ‘He’s still injured. He picked up and injury while he was doing the preparation for the Olympics with Brazil and at the moment he’s not been able to train with us.
‘That seems unlikely at the moment but hopefully he can recover quickly.’
Arteta has brought in Ben White at centre-back this summer in a huge £50m move from Brighton, but Gabriel’s absence will be frustrating after the Brazilian claimed it was ‘nothing serious’ when confirming the issue.
‘Unfortunately I won’t be able to fulfil my dream due to an injury, nothing serious,’ Gabriel told his followers on Instagram on 7 July.
‘I will not be able to defend my country’s colours at the Olympics.
‘I will be, from a distance, rooting for the national team and for my team-mates. God knows everything.’
Arsenal continue their pre-season preparations at Tottenham on Sunday 8 August.
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