Community Shield: Arteta provides fitness update on Rice, Saka, Saliba and Timber
By Joel Masibo, August 15, 2026Manager Mikel Arteta has given an update on the condition of several key Arsenal players ahead of Sunday’s, August 16, 2026 Community Shield meeting with Manchester City at the Millennium Stadium.
Arsenal, the reigning Premier League champions, will begin their competitive campaign against the FA Cup holders, despite the limited preparation time following the World Cup.
Arteta has been encouraged by the physical condition of his squad since the players returned from international commitments.
“I love the way the players have come back,” the boss said on Friday at the Sobha Realty Training Centre, “most of them [came back] earlier than expected, really fit with all the testing and they all seem in great condition.
“The moment they start to look at each other and look at the squad that we have and what we are building, there is a lot of excitement around it.”
Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice and Martin Zubimendi have not featured in Arsenal’s pre-season matches since returning from international duty. However, all three have now resumed training and could be part of the squad against City.
“They will be available, they trained with us today, they will train tomorrow and if they are in the condition that we expect them to be, they will be involved.”
Arteta was also asked whether Saka and Rice could face restrictions on their playing time during the opening weeks of the campaign. The Arsenal manager said there had been no major concerns over either player.
“We haven’t noticed anything; they had individual plans through the time that they had with the national team. They’ve been trying to evolve those issues and they have improved.
“In the rest period that they had, they both had specific programmes for themselves. They’ve been doing those and so far, what I saw the last two or three days, it was really good.”
However, Arsenal will have to wait longer for the return of Jurrien Timber and William Saliba.
Both defenders picked up injuries during the summer and are continuing their rehabilitation as they work towards returning to full team training.
“Jurrien is progressing really well,” Mikel reported, “he is on the pitch, we are ramping up now with certain actions and especially the volume and the load.
“I think he is on a good trajectory, but there is still a few weeks to go. Wilo, as we all know, it’s more a long-term injury.”
Arteta did not provide a definite comeback date for either defender but indicated that Timber could soon take another important step in his recovery by joining the rest of the squad in training.
“We have to wait and see. He needs to start to train with the group in the next week or so hopefully, and then see how he progresses from there.
“It’s been a long-term issue, and we want to make sure that every step that we take is the right one, he feels right to do that, because he’s such an important player for us.”
With Saka, Rice and Zubimendi potentially available, Arsenal could have several important players back in contention for the Community Shield, while Timber and Saliba remain on the sidelines as they continue their respective recoveries.