Arsenal injury news: Tzolis scare eases as Saliba and Mosquera close on returns ahead of Leeds

Arsenal's international break has delivered a scare and a lift in almost equal measure. Christos Tzolis was taken off after just 18 minutes of Greece's 2-2 Nations League draw with the Netherlands with a suspected hamstring injury — but the early signs on the forward's status are positive, and Arsenal may yet dodge the worst of the break's damage. For a squad that has sold heavily and reinvested carefully, every availability call now carries extra weight.

Tzolis scare looks avoidable

Greece boss Ivan Jovanovic was cautious after the substitution, admitting he withdrew the player because he suspected something was wrong — "I think it was a scene that everyone saw," he said of the moment. The exact nature of the injury remains unconfirmed, but the expectation inside the camp is that Tzolis will not be ruled out for long, and the early indications are that Arsenal have dodged a significant lay-off of the kind that reshaped their summer plans.

Defensive reinforcements coming

• William Saliba — has not featured since France's World Cup semi-final exit due to a back injury, but could soon return to action and steady the back line.
• Kai Havertz — diagnosed with a leg muscle strain on Germany duty and sent back to Arsenal for further tests; not expected to be a long-term absence.
• Mosquera — has missed the last three Premier League games with injury, but Mikel Arteta has hinted the centre-half could soon return to contention.

The knock-on for the Leeds game

With Havertz's spot briefly uncertain, Viktor Gyokeres is eyeing the opening in the front line — the kind of internal competition Arteta has rarely had to manage this season. Ahead of Leeds United, the manager could have close to a full defensive complement available for the first time in weeks, with Saliba's return the headline item. The question now is whether it is the attack, not the defence, that needs patching when the Premier League restarts, and how Arteta balances a front line with two forwards at different stages of fitness.