A major threat has emerged for Mikel Arteta and Arsenal

Arsenal is at risk of significant squad depletion with Martin Zubimendi and Ben White missing training sessions before their important Premier League match against Fulham.

Before their Round 9 Premier League match against Fulham, Arsenal risks losing two more key players as Martin Zubimendi and Ben White were both absent from training at the London Colney training ground.

According to UK media observations, defender Ben White did not appear in the open training session for the press, while newcomer Martin Zubimendi only watched from the sidelines alongside sporting director Andrea Berta. The absence of both players adds to coach Mikel Arteta’s challenges as Arsenal’s squad is already weakened by multiple injuries.

However, Arteta received positive news as defender Piero Hincapie has returned to regular training. The Ecuadorian player, signed from Bayer Leverkusen on the last day of the summer transfer window, has only played a few minutes due to a prolonged groin injury.

This season, Arsenal has continuously struggled with fitness issues. Since the start, key players like Bukayo Saka, William Saliba, Martin Odegaard, and Kai Havertz have all missed games for various reasons.

Among them, captain Odegaard is undergoing treatment for a knee injury and is expected to return only in November. Previously, the Norwegian midfielder had to leave the field early twice due to shoulder injuries before suffering a knee ligament injury during international duty.

Besides Odegaard, Kai Havertz and Noni Madueke are also recovering and are likely to return next month. Arteta mentioned in September that Havertz is “making good progress” and the club hopes the German midfielder can come back sooner than expected.

Good news for the “Gunners” is that Saka and Saliba have nearly reached full fitness after completing their national team duties. Both are expected to start when Arsenal travels to Craven Cottage this weekend.

If Zubimendi does not recover in time, Arteta may opt to use Christian Norgaard as a replacement or drop Declan Rice deeper and position Merino as the central midfielder.

Coach Arteta will provide an official update on the squad status during the pre-match press conference. Arsenal fans hope that White and Zubimendi’s absence from training was just a precaution and not a sign of serious injury.