Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has confirmed that he expects Gabriel Magalhães, Jurriën Timber, and Riccardo Calafiori to be fit for the start of the Premier League season.
All three players missed Thursday’s 1-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in Hong Kong — the first-ever North London Derby played outside the United Kingdom — which was decided by Pape Matar Sarr’s stunning 45-yard strike at the Kai Tak Stadium.
Gabriel and Timber were absent for all three matches during Arsenal’s pre-season tour of Asia, having sustained injuries toward the end of last season.
Gabriel featured for 45 minutes in a behind-closed-doors match against Watford — his first appearance since undergoing hamstring surgery — but was sidelined again after feeling what Arteta described as a “niggle” in training.
Timber, who had ankle surgery in May, also did not play a single minute during the tour.
Meanwhile, Calafiori was substituted during Arsenal’s 3-2 win over Newcastle in Singapore but has since returned to full training.
