Arteta still speaking about Thomas Partey’s injury and Granit Xhaka’s future, he was also asked on his first impressions of new signing Ben White, the injury status of Gabriel Magalhaes and when Bukayo Saka is due to return.
Here’s what the boss had to say after today’s 2-1 defeat to Chelsea in our penultimate friendly of pre-season…
On Ben White’s debut…
I’m really pleased with the condition he came in and the direction we want to take, it’s a player we’ve been looking for for years now and we identified him as a great option for our game model, the balance we want in the squad in terms of youth and those who can develop with us. It’s great recruitment.
On whether Gabriel will be available for Brentford…
I don’t know. He’s still injured. He picked up an injury when he was doing the preparations for the Olympics with Brazil. At the moment, he’s not able to train with us at the moment so it’s unlikely. Hopefully, he can recover quickly.
On Bukayo Saka’s return…
He’s back very soon. He needed some holiday, he needed to be away, he’s had an incredibly busy year. He’ll be back in the next few days and I’m looking forward to seeing him.
