FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Premier League - Brentford v Arsenal - GTech Community Stadium, London, Britain - January 1, 2025 Arsenal's Riccardo Calafiori during the warm up before the match REUTERS/David Klein /File Photo
(Reuters) - Arsenal have been bolstered by the return of injured defender Riccardo Calafiori and midfielder Ethan Nwaneri, manager Mikel Arteta said, as they get ready to resume their Champions League campaign against Dinamo Zagreb on Wednesday.
Third-placed Arsenal have won four of their six European matches, with one loss and a draw. However, it has been a tough start to the year for the injury-hit Gunners, with just one win in their last five games across all competitions.
Arsenal have been hit hard by the absence of winger Bukayo Saka, sidelined for over two months after hamstring surgery, and defender William Saliba, who sustained a hamstring strain during their win over Tottenham Hotspur last week.
Calafiori missed Arsenal's last three matches due to a muscle injury, while 17-year-old academy product Nwaneri was forced off at halftime with a similar issue after scoring in their 1-1 league draw at Brighton & Hove Albion earlier in January.
"Very positive news. We missed them for a few weeks and they returned today for training. They will be available for the game. Saliba is feeling much better but this game comes a little bit too early for him," Arteta told reporters on Tuesday.
Nwaneri has scored five goals from 18 games in his debut season. The 22-year-old Italian Calafiori has struggled for fitness since joining the north London club in the close season from Bologna for around 40 million pounds ($49.23 million).
Arteta added that he sees a lot of talent in their Croatian opponents, who sit 24th in the Champions League table with eight points from six games. Teams finishing ninth to 24th will compete in two-legged knockout playoffs to secure their spot in the last 16.
"They have some individuals that catch your eye... We are in a strong position and now it's time to capitalise at home," Arteta said. Finishing in the top-eight of the new league phase would qualify Arsenal automatically for the last-16.
"With the schedule that we had for the last three months you can have a break and reset a little bit, work on things and rest some people and some people are back," he said.
"(After) the work that we have done for many months, we need a strong performance against a really good side and we'll try to do that. So far we have done really well."
After hosting Dinamo, Arteta's side are set to travel to Spain to face Girona on Jan. 29.
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(Reporting by Shifa Jahan in Bengaluru; Editing by Toby Davis)
