{"id":49361,"date":"2026-04-19T17:20:25","date_gmt":"2026-04-19T11:50:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/?p=49361"},"modified":"2026-04-19T17:20:25","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T11:50:25","slug":"timber-and-calafiori-absent-from-arsenal-squad-walk-before-manchester-city-title-decider","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/football\/premier-league\/timber-and-calafiori-absent-from-arsenal-squad-walk-before-manchester-city-title-decider\/","title":{"rendered":"Timber and Calafiori absent from Arsenal squad walk before Manchester City title decider"},"content":{"rendered":"<p dir=\"auto\">As Arsenal prepare for one of the biggest games of the <strong>2025\/26 Premier League season<\/strong>, fresh concerns have emerged over key defensive players <strong>Jurrien Timber<\/strong> and <strong>Riccardo Calafiori<\/strong>. Both defenders were notably absent from the squad\u2019s pre-match walk this morning ahead of the high-stakes trip to the <strong>Etihad Stadium<\/strong> to face <strong>Manchester City<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"auto\">The Gunners currently sit top of the Premier League table with 70 points from 32 games, holding a six-point lead over second-placed Manchester City (who have a game in hand). This Sunday\u2019s encounter (kick-off 4:30pm UK time) is being billed as a potential <strong>title decider<\/strong>, with Pep Guardiola\u2019s side chasing down Mikel Arteta\u2019s men in a fiercely competitive race.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\ud83d\udea8 \ud835\udde1\ud835\uddd8\ud835\uddea: Jurrien Timber and Riccardo Calafiori were both not seen with the Arsenal squad on their pre-match walk this morning. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/qCq8mQ8gww\">pic.twitter.com\/qCq8mQ8gww<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 The Touchline | \ud835\udc13 (@TouchlineX) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TouchlineX\/status\/2045829753299484828?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 19, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3 dir=\"auto\">Why the Absence of Timber and Calafiori Raises Alarm<\/h3>\n<p dir=\"auto\">Pre-match walks have become a reliable indicator for Arsenal fans and pundits tracking squad availability. The fact that <strong>Jurrien Timber<\/strong> (recovering from a groin issue) and <strong>Riccardo Calafiori<\/strong> (recent knock) were not spotted with the group adds to the growing injury list for Arteta.<\/p>\n<ul dir=\"auto\">\n<li><strong>Jurrien Timber<\/strong>: The versatile Dutch international has been sidelined with a groin problem and has been cautious in recent comments, saying he is \u201crecovering\u201d but \u201ccan\u2019t say\u201d if he\u2019ll feature. His absence would be a blow to Arsenal\u2019s defensive depth, especially on the right side.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Riccardo Calafiori<\/strong>: The Italian left-back\/centre-back has shown positive signs in recovery and sources suggest he could be in contention for a return \u2014 possibly even from the bench. However, his omission from the walk keeps his participation uncertain.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p dir=\"auto\">Other notable absentees from recent sessions or walks include <strong>Bukayo Saka<\/strong> (confirmed out with an Achilles issue), <strong>Martin \u00d8degaard<\/strong>, and potentially others like <strong>Mikel Merino<\/strong>. Mikel Arteta has remained measured in press conferences, stating the club will \u201ctry again\u201d with several players who are \u201cquite close\u201d but noting the short turnaround makes it challenging.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"auto\">Arsenal\u2019s defensive options could look thin if both Timber and Calafiori miss out, forcing Arteta to reshuffle \u2014 possibly relying on William Saliba, Gabriel, and others in a high-pressure environment.<\/p>\n<h3 dir=\"auto\">Man City vs Arsenal: Title Race Implications<\/h3>\n<p dir=\"auto\">Manchester City enter the match in strong form, boosted by recent wins and momentum from the Carabao Cup final victory over Arsenal. A win for City would reduce the gap to just three points (with their game in hand), keeping the title race alive heading into the final stretch of the season.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"auto\">For Arsenal, maintaining their lead is vital as they aim for a first Premier League title since 2004. The Gunners have been unbeaten in their last five league meetings against City but will need to navigate this fixture without full squad strength.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As Arsenal prepare for one of the biggest games of the 2025\/26 Premier League season, fresh concerns have emerged over\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":217,"featured_media":49362,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4650],"tags":[3880,5239,4057],"class_list":["post-49361","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-premier-league","tag-calafiori","tag-timbe","tag-top-stories"],"reading_time":"3 min read","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49361","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/217"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49361"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49361\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49363,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49361\/revisions\/49363"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49362"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49361"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49361"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49361"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}