Huge concerns have been raised after Arsenal’s new signing Ricardo Calafiori and Dutch defender Jurrien Timber were missing in training.
Both players were nowhere to be found in footage and pictures capturing the Gunners’ recent training sessions, and this has drawn suspicions, with questions on the reason for their absence being asked.
Calafiori is Arsenal’s biggest summer acquisition to date, following his £42 million signing from Bologna, and there is increasing excitement to watch the Italian international play.
Ricardo Calafiori and Jurrien Timber missing in training
However, none of the pictures and videos that surfaced over the weekend featured the 22-year-old defender.
Arteta’s update
There was no sign that Calafiori was injured, and Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta addressed his presence with the team after last week’s defeat to Liverpool.
“We had to manage him,” Arteta said, per Football London.
“He had a very busy 48 hours before he took his flight and joined us here, and then it was the jetlag, it’s a lot of things.
“He hasn’t trained with the team yet and we want to build him up slowly to get to know him first. We’ll have plenty of time to see him.”
But Ricardo Calafiori wasn’t the only player missing from the team; Timber wasn’t seen either.
Given Timber’s impact on the team in their preseason tour, there has been a lot of talks about the Dutch international, who missed most of the previous campaign due to a significant knee injury.
Following his omission against Liverpool, reports claimed that the 22-year-old defender was deliberately rested, having featured in most of Arsenal’s preseason games.
But his absence from the photos and videos over the weekend has understandably sparked concerns and suspicions.
