Mikel Arteta tight-lipped on Declan Rice fitness after Arsenal midfielder hobbled off in Brentford win

Rice has become the heartbeat of the Gunners’ midfield since his record move from West Ham. However, the player picked up a niggle during the 2-0 victory over the Bees and now remains uncertain for the next match against Unai Emery's side. Although Rice eased initial concerns in the immediate aftermath by insisting he felt "fine", Arteta adopted a noticeably cautious tone when pressed about the 25-year-old’s availability for the club’s next Premier League outing during Friday's press conference. 

Arteta was reluctant to discuss specifics, emphasising the need to monitor how Rice responds over the next 24 hours.

"Well, let's see," Arteta told reporters on Friday. "I think with all the questions I'm going to get, the answer, unfortunately, is going to be the same. We have another training session in the afternoon. Every hour is going to be very important to see the availability of the players. After that, we'll decide who travels."

Arteta’s uncertainty was not limited to Rice. The manager admitted that defender Cristhian Mosquera faces a particularly difficult race against time to feature this weekend. The prospect of being without Mosquera is a fresh headache for the Arsenal head coach, who is already navigating a defensive shortage with William Saliba and Gabriel also in the treatment room. 

"That's the more complicated one, but again, we have another test today to see where we are with them," he said. "We need to know, because the feeling that we had after the game and yesterday, we need to corroborate with what happens with all the testing that we do today."

While speaking on the fitness of William Saliba and Leandro Trossard, Arsenal said: "It is a matter of days with those two, for sure. After the training session, we'll know more."

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Despite Arsenal investing more than £250 million on eight new arrivals during the last window, Arteta hinted the club may still dip back into the market if the right conditions present themselves. He stressed that unpredictability is part of the sport, and that the club must be prepared to act if injury setbacks or unexpected departures force their hand.

"We always have to be prepared," said Arteta. "The moment that we have an option to touch the squad, to improve the squad or to protect the squad, depending on what happens, I think we need to be open for it. From what is going to happen from here until the window is closed as well, is football. So, we don't know but we're certainly going to be on alert and we know where the risk can come in terms of the squad and be ready just in case we have to do something."

Arsenal played against Brentford on Wednesday night, and they kick off against Villa on Saturday lunchtime. Speaking his mind on the busy football schedule, Arteta said: "The only thing I can say is that whenever it's possible to help and give the players an extra day or hours to fulfil the maximum potential, let's do it. That's it. We are ready for tomorrow's game, that's for sure."

Arsenal’s win against Brentford means they travel to Birmingham with a five-point cushion at the top of the Premier League. Manchester City briefly narrowed the deficit on Tuesday evening after their breathless 5-4 triumph at Fulham, though Pep Guardiola’s men do not kick off until later on Saturday. That scheduling quirk gives Arsenal the chance to stretch the gap to eight points before City take on Sunderland at the Etihad Stadium. It is an opportunity, but not one that will come easily. Villa, under Unai Emery, have surged into third place following a thrilling 4-3 win at Brighton and have turned Villa Park into one of the most formidable venues in the division. Arteta knows the challenge ahead will require some creative problem-solving if several of his first-choice players fail to recover in time.