Arsenal trained at London Colney on Tuesday morning ahead of their flight to Portugal to take on FC Porto in the Champions League on Wednesday. The good news was that Fabio Vieira and Thomas Partey were both training with the main group. The bad news was that Gabriel Jesus, Oleksandr Zinchenko, and Takehiro Tomiyasu were nowhere to be seen.
In even better news, Vieira traveled with the team to Porto. Mikel Arteta suggested last week that he expected Vieira to be available to face his former club, although he didn’t say whether the club thought he’d be back for the away leg or the home leg in two weeks. It may be that Vieira is traveling because he’s close to a return and he used to play for Porto, so it’s a homecoming of sorts for him.
Thomas Partey did not travel with the team. As of last week, the Ghanaian was still thought to be a couple of weeks away from making his return, although participating in more of training is a good sign. The updates from Arteta and Arsenal have been positive, that Partey is recovering well from his setback.
It’s not clear whether any of the three players not at training — Jesus, Zinchenko, and Tomiyasu — traveled with the team. Gabriel Jesus’ knee problem was thought to be minor. It seemed like he was close to being available for Burnley at the weekend and maybe could have pushed it if it wasn’t one of the relegation clubs. There is less clarity on the extent of Zinchenko’s calf problem, which has long since become a recurring issue. There is almost no reporting on what is keeping Tomiyasu out.
Jurrien Timber is still out long-term, although the scuttlebutt is that he’s progressing well. It seems more likely that he’ll make his return before the end of the season, but it’s unlikely that he’ll make much of an impact in terms of minutes or contribution. That’s just the nature of ACL injuries and recovery timelines.
One additional note: Ethan Nwaneri traveled with the team. It seems like he’s being included with the first team more this year. Could that be foreshadowing a bigger step up next season?
Mikel Arteta will address the media in a few hours from Portugal. Presumably he will be asked about team news and give additional fitness updates. We’ll have those for you if anything important comes out.