That was the cleanest piece of team news from Arsenal’s press conference in Munich before the Champions League group-phase game: one player returns now, another may follow later. Asked for injury updates on Zubimendi and Piero Hincapie, Arteta said, “Yes, he’s back with us. He will be involved tomorrow. And Piero, let’s see, if he’s able to train in the next few days as well, he can be available for Everton, which would be great news.”
For Arsenal, that is enough to matter. Bayern away is not the sort of night that flatters a thin squad. It asks for control when you have the ball and calm when you lose it, and those are easier demands to meet when a manager is not patching over absences.
Arteta’s answer was brief, but the contrast inside it was useful. Zubimendi is back now. Hincapie is not there yet. In a season when every pre-match briefing seems to carry an injury subplot, there is value in that kind of plain distinction.
The rest of Arteta’s mood was what you would expect before a game of this size: eager rather than defensive. He called Bayern “incredibly well coached,” praised Vincent Kompany as a person and a coach, and said he hoped the Bayern manager would be present despite reports of illness because “he will be very good for the game.”
He was similarly unwilling to be dragged elsewhere. On Graeme Souness’s criticism of Bukayo Saka, Arteta said he had not heard it and would not comment on opinions. On the latest fuss over Arsenal’s style after a 1-0 win at Nottingham Forest, he accepted his side could have done things better but treated the broader noise as part of life for a team with big expectations.
That felt about right. Before Bayern, the aesthetic debate can wait. The tangible development was the one Arteta opened with: Zubimendi is back with the group, and Arsenal go into the match with at least one less problem to solve.
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