Every North London Derby player
There have been many casualties in north London this season, with Arsenal joining Tottenham’s injured party.
After Martin Odegaard missed two months in the fall with an ankle problem, Ben White underwent knee surgery in November and Bukayo Saka tore a hamstring before Christmas. Minor setbacks for a number of players have hampered Arsenal in between, with the Gunners struggling to live up to their pre-season expectations.
A lot has conspired against Mikel Arteta’s side this term, no doubt about that, and two domestic cup defeats in the space of a few days have angered fans desperate for a return to glory. They came so close under Arteta, but in 2024/25. so far it has been a campaign of stagnation.
The Arsenal boss will be hoping Wednesday’s north London derby kick-starts a stuttering season that isn’t dead yet. However, they will have to manage without several key players. Here’s the latest Arsenal injury news ahead of the derby.
Goalkeepers and defenders
Riccardo Calafiori has suffered multiple injuries since joining the club and a muscle problem kept him out of Sunday’s FA Cup defeat to Manchester United.
The arrival of Myles Lewis-Skelly at left-back has eased the Italian’s availability problems and the teenager could be needed again on Wednesday. Arteta, however, confirmed that Calafiori’s muscle injury is not serious and that he could return for the derby.
There were also a few doubts Jurrien Timber after limping off over the weekend with a potential hamstring problem. The Dutchman was forced to play a lot of minutes with Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu out for the long haul as he missed most of his rookie season with a torn ACL.
However, Timber should be fine to start against Spurs, with Arteta saying the defender was just struggling with cramp on Sunday.
Midfielders
Jorginho he was unable to take a penalty in Sunday’s shootout due to an extra-time injury, but like the Timbers, the Italian won’t be out for an extended period of time. He also struggled with cramps.
However, the veteran midfielder is unlikely to be involved from the start on Wednesday with Declan Rice and Thomas Partey available. Rice was suspended for the reverse fixture, which meant Jorginho started at the base of midfield.
Boy Ethan Nwaneri he was used as an alternative to Bukayo Saka before picking up a muscle injury at Brighton. The teenager won’t be back until the end of January at the earliest.
Forward
Gabriel JesusThe bad luck in Arsenal’s colors continued. Jesus has never been the same since suffering a knee injury at the 2022 World Cup and now looks set to miss most of 2025 after tearing his ACL against Man Utd.
Arsenal is also without a wing superstar Bukayo Saka after undergoing hamstring surgery at the end of 2024, but Raheem Sterling returned to action at the weekend after recovering from a knee injury.
Player |
Injury |
Status |
---|---|---|
Jurrien Timber |
hamstring |
available |
Riccardo Calafiori |
Muscle |
Doubt |
Ben White |
Knee |
Out |
Takehiro Tomiyasu |
Knee |
Out |
Ethan Nwaneri |
Muscle |
Out |
Jorginho |
Calf |
available |
Gabriel Jesus |
Knee |
Out |
Bukayo Saka |
hamstring |
Out |