After Saka & Odegaard: £38m star now absent from Arsenal training, could miss Sunderland game

Arsenal entertain Sunderland in Saturday’s Premier League game at the Emirates Stadium.

The Gunners returned to winning ways in the league with a 4-0 rout of Leeds United last weekend.

The club have since qualified for the Carabao Cup final with a 4-2 aggregate win over Chelsea.

Mikel Arteta’s side will host the Black Cats this weekend. Ahead of the game, they could be without the services of Jurrien Timber aside from Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Mikel Merino.

Merino has already been ruled out for a significant period after a foot injury. Saka and Odegaard are nursing minor muscle injuries. They were absent against the Blues on Tuesday evening.

Sky Sports have now revealed that Timber was not present in today’s open training session alongside Saka and Odegaard, and could be doubtful to face the Black Cats on Saturday afternoon.

Timber could be rested vs Sunderland due to workload management

The Dutchman has been a mainstay in the right-back position for the Gunners since last season.

Arteta went with an unchanged backline against Chelsea in midweek. Timber played the full 90 minutes, with Ben White left on the bench as an unused substitute.

Hence, we are not overly surprised by Timber’s absence in training. The £38 million signing has had two 90-minute stints against Leeds and Chelsea in the space of four days.

The Netherlands international was left out against Kairat Almaty prior to that with a minor niggle, and he could be given a much-needed breather against the Black Cats.

White has proved a quality deputy whenever required. The Englishman looks poised to start at right-back, having not played a single minute in the last two matches.

Stats from Transfermarkt.com

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