Arsenal are without a number of first-team players on their pre-season tour of America, with international tournaments and injury issues seeing Mikel Arteta leave out several star names

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has voiced his dismay after he was forced to leave defender Takehiro Tomiyasu out of the Gunners' pre-season tour to the USA.

Japan international Tomiyasu suffered a knee injury in training last week, and has been left behind as a precaution as he undergoes tests. The 25-year-old has suffered a variety of fitness issues since joining the Gunners from Bologna in 2021, and Arteta wants the club to manage his latest issue carefully.

"It is unbelievable, because the kid works so hard," said Arteta as he spoke to reporters ahead of Arsenal's matches against Bournemouth, Manchester United and Liverpool.

While Tomiyasu is absent, the US tour does mark a return to first-team action for Dutch defender Jurrien Timber, who saw almost the entirety of his debut Gunners season wrecked by a knee injury.

Timber will feature in the forthcoming friendlies, and Arteta said: "He is so willing, you can see that in his body language and the way he acts. He has worked so hard, I think he is in a really good place at the moment.

Tomiyasu suffered the injury in training ( Image:

Tomiyasu could soon be joined in north London by Italian defender Riccardo Calafiori, who is still expected to leave the Japanese defender's former club Bologna to join the Gunners.

Discussing potential transfers, Arteta said: "I don't know [if anyone will join us]. It's still a lot of time to go in the window but that's more of a question for Edu and the board I think. When you are so close you want to grab it. We are very close.

Timber has been stepping up his fitness in the US ( Image:

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