Arsenal will play their last game of the 2024/25 season with a trip to Southampton, and Mikel Arteta is expected to name a strong enough squad. Some departing players could start, while there were fresh injury concerns to key stars.
During his pre-match press conference, Arteta updated on Jurrien Timber’s surgery, as well as confirmed William Saliba will be out for a few weeks with a hamstring problem. He also spoke about Kai Havertz and his return last weekend.
Timber underwent ankle surgery to repair a problem plaguing him for some time now, and he will miss out for a few weeks. With the season about to end, this might be the right time, as Arsenal will hope he returns in time for pre-season.
Arteta said, “Jurrien had surgery on Tuesday morning on his ankle. He’s been feeling that discomfort for many, many weeks. He’s been navigating through the season with that issue and it needed to be resolved, so he’s going to be out for a while. And Saliba, he felt something in his hamstring in the first half [against Newcastle], just before half-time. And again, he’s going to be out for a few weeks.”
When asked about the timeline for Timber’s absence, Arteta continued, “We don’t know yet. It will depend how the recovery goes. It will be weeks, but we don’t know exactly how much. Hopefully, it will be somewhere near the pre-season, if everything goes well, but we don’t know yet.”
Meanwhile, Arteta also touched on Havertz following the striker’s return to action as a substitute against Newcastle United last weekend. The Gunners boss said, “You could tell how excited he was. He’s been working so hard. I think he’s done great with the medical staff to get back in shape and in the form that he is at the moment. He was desperate to contribute and I’m pretty happy to see him back.”
In terms of the team selection, some changes are afoot, as William Saliba suffered a hamstring problem against Newcastle United and did not appear for the second half. Riccardo Calafiori deputised for the Frenchman, and ironically, being a central defender, he is pencilled for a first start for Arsenal in the heart of the defence.
Ben White and Jakub Kiwior will retain their places, but Kieran Tierney could feature at left-back, as this is the final game for the Scottish defender in an Arsenal shirt. David Raya will keep his place in goal as the Spaniard is chasing consecutive golden gloves, as he will want a clean sheet in this game.
Jorginho, another expected departure, should make his final start for Arsenal at the heart of the midfield. Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice will operate on either side of him. Mikel Merino’s return from a suspension could see him come straight back into the attacking setup as the Spaniard will lead the line, with Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli on the flanks.
Predicted Arsenal XI: Raya; Ben White, Kiwior, Calafiori, Tierney; Odegaard, Jorginho, Rice; Saka, Merino, Martinelli
