Mikel Arteta fumes over 'unbelievable' Arsenal injury ahead of Liverpool pre-season friendly

Mikel Arteta has expressed his frustration after Takehiro Tomiyasu was ruled out of Arsenal's pre-season tour in the USA due to a knee injury sustained in training. The Japan international, who has faced several fitness challenges since his move from Bologna, will remain in London for further assessment.

Arteta lamented the situation and paid tribute to Tomiyasu's dedication: "It is unbelievable, because the kid works so hard," he said.

"He had an incident in training this week and we don't know yet the extent of that injury but as a precaution we kept him [behind at London Colney]. We'll see what happens."

Despite Tomiyasu's setback, there's positive news as Dutch defender Jurrien Timber returns to action after a knee injury marred his first season with the Gunners. Arteta is optimistic about Timber's return to action.

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"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.",

"We are going to have to manage him now in the next few weeks, especially because the load he has been able to do in the last few months compared to the next two weeks is very different, but we are very excited."

Arsenal is also closing in on the signing of defender Riccardo Calafiori from Bologna but Arteta is urging for caution from supporters. He added: "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.

"Obviously we know there are certain positions that we want to improve and give the squad better resources in terms of numbers where we are short. We will try our best but the main thing is to focus on falling in love with the players we have and make them better."

Liverpool.com says: Tomiyasu has proved to be a reliable member of the Arsenal squad and has the ability to play anywhere across the back line. Arsenal fans will be hoping he can recover in time to be fit for the start of the Premier League season, which is just a matter of weeks away.