
<p>On August 6, Arsenal will play Manchester City in the FA Community Shield at Wembley Stadium.</p>



<p>The Gunners are worrying about the fitness of Oleksandr Zinchenko, Declan Rice, and Folarin Balogun. All three were absent from Thursday’s <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/arsenal-beats-barcelona-in-intense-eight-goal-thriller-20230727-WST-445693.html">5-3 friendly victory against Barcelona</a>.</p>



<p><a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/teams/arsenal-tv-schedule/">Arsenal</a>‘s squad dominated in their last pre-season friendly in the United States. Four different players scored for the team: Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz, Fabio Vieira, and Leandro Trossard (twice).</p>



<p>Although the Gunners played considerably better in their victory against the Spanish giants, Arteta still seemed worried about the status of the injured trio.</p>



<h2>Zinchenko missed entire US tour</h2>



<p>The Community Shield is next Sunday. Four days before that, the Gunners are playing Monaco in the Emirates Cup. As the championship race progressed, Zinchenko has been out since the beginning of May with a calf injury sustained against Newcastle.</p>



<p>This means he missed out on Arsenal’s whole pre-season, including their trip to the United States. <a href="https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/manchester-city-arsenal-community-shield-27418232?fbclid=IwAR3elmHkkolmp_lO_FqrhRjUWOhLazZBYnRJ2sZXlPWzmGjXl3FhaumaM3A" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Manchester Evening News</a> and the <a href="https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/arsenal-man-city-arteta-injury-30581590" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Daily Mirror</a> suggest that Mikel Arteta is hoping the Ukrainian will return soon. In fact, he has a week to be ready for the Wembley match against his former side.</p>



<p>“Alex had a little muscular issue, unfortunately”, Arteta remarked at a press conference when questioned about the left back. “I think he will be back soon but it’s a shame he hasn’t been with us the whole tour.”</p>



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<h5>Declan Rice and Folarin Balogun yet to return to training</h5>



<p>In the meanwhile, Rice was injured during training and was unable to play in the game against Barcelona. The record summer addition, who cost the club £105 million, made his debut in a 2-0 defeat to Manchester United. However, he is questionable for Wednesday’s friendly against Monaco.</p>



<p>“Dec [Rice] had quite a strong kick in training so we didn’t want to take the risk. He wasn’t really comfortable to train yesterday and we decided not to train,” said Arteta.</p>



<p>On the other hand, Folarin Balogun, who also had a foot injury, was the third player who could not participate against Barcelona. Although there have been rumors tying the U.S. international with a transfer, the Spanish boss said he has not been training with the team.</p>



<p>Arteta concluded, “[Balogun] was not available. He has a little foot injury and hasn’t been training with us.”</p>



<p><em>Photo: IMAGO / Sportimage</em></p>


Arsenal injury worries are a concern ahead of next weekend's Community Shield matchup against Manchester City.

Arsenal face injury worries ahead of Community Shield - World Soccer Talk

Arsenal face injury worries ahead of Community Shield


<p>Arsenal defenders Oleksandr Zinchenko and William Saliba are out of commission for the rest of the 2022/23 campaign. As the Gunners cling to Premier League title hopes, it will be without two of its integral players for the final three games. </p>



<p>According to David Ornstein of <em><a href="https://theathletic.com/4423917/2023/05/11/william-saliba-zinchenko-arsenal-injury/">The Athletic</a></em>, both players have injuries that rule them out for the final few weeks. Saliba has already missed the last eight Premier League fixtures with back pain picked up against <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/arsenal-and-sporting-go-the-distance-in-europa-league-classic-20230316-WST-423613.html">Sporting in the Europa League</a>. Before that, he started <a href="https://www.transfermarkt.us/william-saliba/leistungsdaten/spieler/495666" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">each of the 27 Premier League games</a> for <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/arsenal-tv-schedule/">Arsenal</a>. Zinchenko picked up a calf injury during the <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/arsenal-grab-vital-win-over-newcastle-to-keep-title-hopes-alive-20230507-WST-431968.html">club’s win at Newcastle</a> at the weekend. The Ukrainian has been a massive boost for Arsenal this season, playing a free role in attack following his defensive duties.</p>



<p>On the bright side for Arsenal supporters, Ornstein claims neither player should require surgery. Instead, this just happens to rule them out for a couple of weeks. It is merely unfortunate timing that it comes at a pivotal point in the season. Saliba has seen two replacements in his stead. Rob Holding started the majority of games since the Frenchman’s injury. However, Jakub Kiwior started each of Arsenal’s last two games. For Zinchenko, Kieran Tierney is the natural replacement at full-back.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<div class="ck-twitter"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">🚨 Arsenal defenders William Saliba + Oleksandr Zinchenko out for rest of season. Saliba has not recovered sufficiently from back injury &amp; Zinchenko picked up calf problem at Newcastle. Better news is neither expected to require surgery <a href="https://twitter.com/TheAthleticFC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TheAthleticFC</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AFC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AFC</a> <a href="https://t.co/hYY55WcnYr">https://t.co/hYY55WcnYr</a></p>— David Ornstein (@David_Ornstein) <a href="https://twitter.com/David_Ornstein/status/1656703227482587145?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 11, 2023</a></blockquote></div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



<h2>Zinchenko and Saliba are major misses for Arsenal</h2>



<p>Zinchenko and Saliba were mainstays of the Arsenal lineup each week. The French centerback’s absence thus far has been felt in the Gunners’ back line. Prior to his departure, Arsenal conceded less than a goal per game. In the last eight games, though, Arsenal conceded 14 times. That includes <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/man-city-closes-in-on-premier-league-title-with-win-over-arsenal-20230426-WST-430242.html">a 4-1 loss at the hands of Manchester City</a>. </p>



<p>Despite not being captain, Zinchenko has been an emotional leader for the side. Each time Arsenal concedes, Zinchenko is the man to huddle the players up and get them back on track. Of course, with Saliba’s absence, that was happening with a little more frequency than he perhaps preferred. </p>



<p>Arsenal’s first of its final three games is this weekend against Brighton and Hove Albion. The Gunners need <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/manchester-city-tv-schedule/">Manchester City</a> to drop points. Not only does the Sky Blue side of Manchester hold a one-point edge in the table, but it has also played one fewer game than Arsenal.</p>



<p><em>PHOTO: IMAGO / Sportimage</em></p>


Oleksandr Zinchenko and William Saliba will not suit up for Arsenal for the rest of this season as both battle injuries.

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Arsenal face injury worries ahead of Community Shield

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Zinchenko and Saliba out of Arsenal squad for rest of season