Arsenal face a defensive uncertainty ahead of their Premier League clash with Leeds United as Ezri Konsa's fitness remains in doubt following his early withdrawal from England duty. The centre-back, a £50m summer signing from Aston Villa, returned to the club's training base for assessment after suffering a recurrence of a dead leg issue while on international duty.
England manager Thomas Tuchel explained the situation. "Ezri felt discomfort when he came into camp, played with discomfort against Spain and it got a bit worse so he stayed in camp and tried everything for the match in Czechia which came too soon," Tuchel said. "He tried everything for the match in Croatia and gave the green light, finished all the training sessions, unfortunately he got another hit on the quad that caused a light trauma." Konsa, who started three of Arsenal's opening five league games, was subsequently sent back to his club as a precaution.
The news is not all negative for Mikel Arteta. Ben White has returned to training and is expected to be available for selection against Leeds. Cristhian Mosquera, who has been sidelined, is also closing in on a return and was always likely to be back in contention for this weekend's fixture. Jurrien Timber is also reported to be very close to a return, bolstering Arteta's defensive options.
Other squad updates include Kai Havertz, who picked up a hamstring injury on Germany duty. Tests confirmed the issue is not serious, though no specific timeframe for his return has been given. Martin Odegaard, who had concerns over an ankle issue after a challenge while playing for Norway, recovered to play full matches and has been given extra time off before rejoining the squad later this week. Christos Tzolis will miss the Leeds game after suffering a hamstring injury with Greece and is expected to be out for around three weeks.
Arsenal's next fixture is a home game against Leeds United on Saturday, 10 October. It presents the Gunners with their first chance to respond to a 3-0 defeat away to Brighton before the international break, a result that left them second in the Premier League table with 12 points from five games. They trail leaders Manchester City by three points. The club's recent form shows four wins and one loss from their last five matches across all competitions.
With Konsa's status uncertain, Arteta may have to rely on his returning defenders as Arsenal prepare for a busy period that includes games against Lille, Nottingham Forest and Bayern Munich over the following fortnight.
More detail at standard.co.uk
