Arsenal duo to return for Leeds clash | OneFootball

Jurrien Timber and William Saliba are back in contention for Arsenal after missing the midweek Champions League win over Kairat Almaty.

Arteta opted to rest the defensive duo on Wednesday but both will be back available for when the Gunners face Leeds on Saturday, Arteta says.

“Yeah, they are okay,” Arteta said ahead of the game. “Obviously, they have played a lot of minutes, they’ve been carrying a few niggles and it was a really good opportunity for us to offload them a little bit and refresh them.”

Arteta also says he hopes to have youngster Max Dowman, who has now put pen to paper on an agreement to sign a professional deal when he turns 17, available again soon.

“Obviously, we need to be, as well, he’s growing and we need to be very careful,” Arteta explained.

“We’re a little bit more protective. He has a different schedule as well because he needs to go to schools and that, so we need to respect a lot of things throughout that process.

“But I think he’s quite close. He’s on the pitch now, he’s doing well, and hopefully we’re going to be able to see him soon.”

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Meanwhile, the Gunners boss says Kai Havertz is ready for more minutes after starting in the win over Kairat Almaty.

“Yeah, he is ready,” he said. “Obviously, he started the game (against Kairat).

“Obviously it’s been a long period and now we need to manage that load and the games that we’re going to select for him to start.

“But there was no reaction to that (game). I think it was super positive. You could see straight away the impact that he can have in the team. So, yeah, he’s ready.”