Arsenal have been handed an unexpected injury boost ahead of Saturday's Premier League clash with Everton, with Christos Tzolis reportedly holding an outside chance of making the matchday squad and Piero Hincapie also eyeing a comeback.
The timing could hardly be better for Mikel Arteta. Arsenal go into gameweek eight second in the table, and Wednesday's 2-2 Champions League draw at Bayern Munich came at a cost, with Bukayo Saka forced off early. Any returning bodies out wide and at the back will be welcomed at the Emirates.
Tzolis ahead of schedule
According to Sports Mole, Tzolis has taken further steps forward in his rehabilitation and there is a slim chance the winger will be in the squad to face the Toffees. The report, citing Connor Humm, adds that a return against Fleetwood Town in the EFL Cup on October 27 or against Liverpool on November 1 remains the more realistic target.
The 24-year-old summer signing from Club Brugge, who joined for £33.5m, has missed Arsenal's last four matches in all competitions after sustaining a thigh injury while representing Greece during the international break. Before that setback he had set up four goals in his first eight games for the club, although he is still waiting for his first goal in red and white.
Arteta's last public update, before the win at Nottingham Forest, had Tzolis doing "really well" but still a few weeks away — which is why an appearance this weekend would count as a genuine surprise. The manager is expected to give a fuller update at his pre-match press conference on Friday.
Hincapie could be back too
Tzolis could be one of two boosts, as Hincapie is also eyeing a comeback in the 3pm kickoff against David Moyes's side. The Ecuadorian sustained an ankle injury in the warm-down following Arsenal's 2-1 win over Leeds United on October 10, but he is back in individual training.
Arteta did not rule out a return against Everton during his pre-Bayern press conference. As football.london reported, the manager said Hincapie could be available if he trains with the team in the coming days, calling it "great news". William Saliba is also training on his own as he recovers from a long-term back injury, but it will be another few weeks before the Frenchman is back in contention.
Why it matters with Saka out
The boost matters most because of who Arsenal have lost. Saka is expected to miss a number of weeks with the quad injury he picked up in Munich, one that Arteta conceded "doesn't look good at all" at full time. With Saka out, Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze are set to start out wide against Everton, with Eze the most natural left-wing option in Tzolis's absence.
So what: a squad stretched at the wrong moment
Arsenal's depth is being tested at exactly the wrong point of the season. City can temporarily go six points clear at the summit if they beat Aston Villa in Saturday's lunchtime kickoff, so Arteta cannot afford a slip at home to Everton. A fit-again Hincapie restores cover and competition for Gabriel Magalhaes and Riccardo Calafiori at centre-back and left-back, while even a place on the bench for Tzolis would give Arteta a direct, creative option he has lacked for a month.
Beyond the Final Whistle: This is the kind of quiet team news that decides title races in October. Arsenal's first XI can go toe to toe with anyone, but their season will be shaped by how quickly the treatment room empties — and getting Tzolis and Hincapie back ahead of schedule, just as Saka goes down, is the first piece of injury luck Arteta has had all season. If both make the squad on Saturday, Arsenal's bench suddenly looks like a weapon again rather than a worry. Will Tzolis make the squad against Everton? Tell us in the comments.
