MIKEL ARTETA is considering throwing Ben White straight back into the Arsenal squad – just days after returning to full training following a knee operation.
The Gunners have been in Dubai since Thursday morning for a mid-season winter break – flying back to London on Tuesday ahead of their Prem clash at Leicester on Saturday.
One of the standout names in the travelling group out in the Middle East is right-back White, 27 – who has not played since November 10.
The versatile defender underwent knee surgery, having played through the pain for weeks, with fears he could be out for five or six months – but is now in contention to feature after three months of rehab.
Arsenal’s medics predicted a speedy recovery from White, whose injury record has been exemplary since joining the club from Brighton in the summer of 2021 for £50million.
And they have been proven right with White ahead of schedule and back in full training with the first team in a timely boost for the North Londoners.
Full-back is a position that Arteta has plenty of options in with the likes of Riccardo Calafiori, Jurrien Timber, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Kieran Tierney to choose from.
As a result, the Arsenal boss will not take any unnecessary risks – but is keen to get White back on the bench to face the Foxes at the King Power Stadium.
Winger Bukayo Saka is also out in Dubai with the squad, but has not been involved in training, instead continuing his rehab from hamstring surgery underwent just before Christmas.
The England star is due back at the start of March, with Arsenal targeting the Champions League Last 16 first leg on either March 4 or 5 – or their trip to Old Trafford to face Manchester United in the Prem on March 9.
But the injury issues continue to pile up for Arteta with Gabriel Martinelli potentially out for a month with a hamstring issue.
The Brazilian hobbled off in the first half of their 2-0 Carabao Cup semi-final second leg defeat away at Newcastle on Wednesday.
There are hopes that Martinelli – who has also flown out to Dubai – can defy that timeline and get back sooner ahead of the final run-in to the end of the season.
Martinelli joins Saka and striker Gabriel Jesus in the medical room – the latter out for the rest of 2025 following an operation on an ACL rupture last month.
Arteta’s fit attacking options include Kai Havertz, Leandro Trossard, Raheem Sterling and 17-year-old academy product Ethan Nwaneri.
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