Arsenal defender Ben White featured against Newcastle despite being a major injury doubt:
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta will be hoping for some positive injury news to arrive ahead of the Champions League clash away at Inter Milan. The Gunners are unbeaten in European action so far this season, but they have struggled as of late to pick up regular wins in the Premier League, with that trend continuing over the weekend.
On Saturday afternoon, Arteta’s side were beaten by Newcastle at St James’ Park, with Alexander Isak netting the winner. Mikel Merino and Declan Rice both had chances for the visitors, but neither were able to convert with the Magpies dominating the midfield battle.
As for injuries, Gabriel Magalhaes was named in the starting XI having overcome the issue he sustained last weekend against Liverpool with Ben White in the matchday squad, despite Arteta revealing that before Friday, he had not been able to train.
Martin Odegaard and Riccardo Calafiori, meanwhile, missed out as they each recovered from ankle and knee injuries, respectively. With that said, football.london has rounded up the latest Arsenal injury news with the Gunners back in action in Italy on Wednesday.
Ben White
Injury: Unknown.
Despite only just returning from injury, White started against Bournemouth, Shakhtar Donetsk and Liverpool. He was absent against Preston in the Carabao Cup the following week due to load management, but quickly became a doubt to face Newcastle.
Though he only managed to partake in one training session, White was named in the matchday squad and played the 19 minutes of the defeat on Tyneside.
What Arteta said: “With Ben we don’t know yet,” “He could not train so let’s see what happens.”
Possible return date: Returned
Gabriel Magalhaes
Injury: Knee.
Gabriel went down after a challenge from Darwin Nunez against Liverpool. The back of his left knee was hit and despite trying to play on, Arteta had to sub him off shortly after. The Brazilian was spotted with a large ice pack over his knee when sat on the bench.
After using Instagram to show he was using a compression sleeve to aid his recovery, he was unsurprisingly absent from Wednesday night’s Carabao Cup game at Preston. Despite that, he was back in the starting XI to face Newcastle this past Saturday.
What Arteta said: “Yes it’s good news on Gabriel. We have a training session today. If he’s able to do that he’ll be in the squad.”
Possible return date: Returned
Martin Odegaard
Injury: Ankle.
Playing for Norway, Odegaard suffered an ankle injury during a UEFA Nations League match against Austria in September. He was expected to be out for around two months after being assessed, so return before the next international break.
This was at least Arteta’s hope, who after last Sunday’s Liverpool game also admitted the captain is ‘a bit far away’ from being able to play, as he had not yet returned to training. Norway national team boss Stale Solbakken has also expressed his hope to have the player available for their final Nations League fixtures against Slovenia and Kazakhstan this month, especially since they blew their group wide open by losing both matches in October.
And it seems both may get their wish. football.london reported that Odegaard has provided both club and country with a major boost this week as he pushes to make the squad that travels to Newcastle. Despite that hope, Arteta has ruled him and Riccardo Calafiori out of the clash.
What Arteta has said: “Now is the stage he is going to start doing certain work with us and just see how he deals with pain, if he is moving naturally enough and if he is physically at the level required to compete.
“But with the work rate and the hours he has put in I would be surprised if the moment he starts training with us we don’t say he is ready so hopefully soon.” Being involved in the matchday squad to face Inter in the Champions League next Wednesday looks entirely possible.
Possible return date: Inter Milan (A) – Wednesday, November 6.
Riccardo Calafiori
Injury: Knee.
Calafiori was forced off during the Champions League clash at home to Shakhtar Donetsk after slipping in a challenge. Reports in Italy suggested that he will only be out for several weeks. The issue is not described as being serious.
What Arteta has said: “He will be out for a few weeks, I would say.”
Kieran Tierney remains out of action after suffering a devastating hamstring injury playing for Scotland against Switzerland during the Euro 2024 group stages in Cologne over the summer.
This stopped what seemed to be a transfer plan in its tracks, as the defender was expected to leave the Emirates Stadium having spent last season on loan to Real Sociedad. However, he remained a Gunner and Arteta has hinted he could be returning soon.
What Arteta has said: “I think he’s quite close. He’s looking really good. I think he’s over the period where he was still struggling, so he looks really sharp out there. “He hasn’t trained with the team yet but hopefully, he can do that in the next week or two.”
Takehiro Tomiyasu was again absent from the matchday squad against Preston after missing games against Shakhtar Donetsk, Liverpool and Bournemouth. The 25-year-old has struggled with injury for most of the calendar year, playing only six minutes of football since the 2024/25 season began.
What Arteta has said: “No, I don’t expect him to be available before then [the November international break], unfortunately.”
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