Kieran Tierney is back from injury and available for Arsenal again, with the Scot travelling with the squad for the Champions League clash with Sporting on Tuesday.
The 27-year-old has not played for the Gunners since the 2023 Community Shield when he came off the bench against Manchester City at Wembley.
He spent last season on loan in Spain with Real Sociedad and has not featured yet this season because he has been struggling with a hamstring problem.
However, he has been training and is available again, with Arteta confirming that he could feature in Lisbon this week.
‘We have Kieran Tierney after a long injury, it’s great news that he’s back,’ Arteta told a pre-match press conference on Monday.
‘He’s been training with the team and he’s at the level to participate.’
There is also good news on Declan Rice after the England midfielder was named on the bench against Nottingham Forest at the weekend and didn’t get on the pitch in the 3-0 win.
Rice was struggling with a minor injury, but Arteta confirmed ahead of the Sporting clash: ‘Everybody in the squad is fully fit and available to start the game.’
That leaves just Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu who are out of action for the Gunners, both suffering with knee injuries.
Arsenal bounced back to winning ways with the comfortable victory over Forest after three games without a win.
That run included a defeat at Inter Milan, which left Arteta’s men 12th in the Champions League table with two wins, a draw and a defeat from their four outings.
They take on Sporting this week, with the Portuguese side second in the table only behind Liverpool, with 10 points from four matches.
However, they are now in the post-Ruben Amorim era, with Joao Pereira now at the helm.
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