Bukayo Saka and Jurrien Timber were both absent from Arsenal training on Monday afternoon as the squad prepared to face Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League.

The Gunners were without Saka and Timber for their trip to Bournemouth on Saturday, which they lost 2-0.

It was the first defeat the Gunners have suffered this season and Arteta has urged his side to bounce back against Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Saka has been struggling with a hamstring injury that he picked up playing for England during the recent international break.

The winger was forced during England's defeat to Greece on October 10 and missed the Three Lions' win over Finland three days later.

Saka was also left out of Arsenal's squad for their win over Bournemouth as the club did not want to rush him back.

"With Bukayo, let's see how he feels today and the transition that we have later on," Arteta said on Monday in his press conference before training.

Timber has been out since the start of this month with what Arteta has confirmed is a muscular problem.

The defender missed Arsenal's win over Southampton on October 5 and he has not played for them since.

"I think he's going to be close obviously," said Arteta. "We have to see how he deals with training with the whole group because he hasn't done that yet but he will be pretty close hopefully."

More follows.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

* YEAR OF BIRTH You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

CREATE ACCOUNT

I'LL TRY LATER

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.