Mikel Arteta kept the door ajar on Declan Rice but removed any doubt about two fellow defenders ahead of a congested run of fixtures. The manager acknowledged a significant swelling in Rice’s knee after the match against Brighton & Hove Albion and said the midfielder missed the midweek session while his joint settled.

Speaking the day before Arsenal’s trip to Bournemouth, Arteta said: “We haven’t trained yet. Today will be the first training session probably with the players who started against Villa. We will know more this afternoon.” On Rice specifically he added: “We don’t know yet,” and then: “We have another session today, let’s see how he comes through it and how that’s feeling. The Villa game was too early for him.”

Rice’s presence in training represents a positive sign, but Arteta confirmed that Cristhian Mosquera and Riccardo Calafiori “are both out.” The manager must balance limited rotation with a defence that saw Ben White return against Villa while William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhães resumed as a central pairing.

The schedule ahead is demanding. After Bournemouth, Arsenal host Liverpool in the Premier League next Thursday, then face the FA Cup third round three days later. The club also prepare for a Carabao Cup semifinal tie with Chelsea later this month while the Champions League group stage race approaches its conclusion. Arteta made clear that having Rice available for those matches would be important to the team.

Rice’s own reaction after the Brighton game added to concerns: during a postmatch conversation with Morgan Rogers the 26-year-old was seen gesturing about the swelling and shook his head while saying the word “terrible.” For now, Arteta confirmed that Friday’s training will be decisive for Rice’s involvement at Bournemouth.

Arteta also warned about the difficulty of the trip south, noting recent head-to-head history under Andoni Iraola: “We lost both games against them and we know the difficulty of that,” he said, underlining the test that awaits regardless of selection issues.

William Saliba has set a blunt target for his team as Arsenal pursue what would be an unprecedented campaign in English football. The centre back backed his side to compete for the Quadruple this season and warned teammates that history will not remember them without silverware in the cabinet.

Alongside their Premier League lead, Arsenal also sit first in the Champions League standings, have reached the Carabao Cup semi-finals and are regarded among the favourites to win the FA Cup. Completing the Quadruple has never been done in English football. Manchester United (1998–99) and Manchester City (2022–23) have each won the Treble, but Saliba admitted he is daring to dream of becoming the first team to achieve more.

“Of course [Arsenal could win multiple trophies], because we know that in every competition we play, we know we can win it,” Saliba stressed. He pointed to recent near-misses as proof of capacity rather than a barrier. “We have been close in the Premier League in the past three seasons, and last season we were in the semi-finals of the Champions League and the Carabao Cup, so we know that we can win every competition.”

Saliba has limited silverware from his time at the club so far. He was not part of that FA Cup triumph five years ago and has just two Community Shield victories to his name. Winning trophies was a major factor in his decision to sign a new contract in September.

“We have to show that on the pitch and we have to start winning trophies now,” he warned. Looking ahead to the Carabao Cup semi-final run, he added: “We are in the semifinals of the Carabao Cup so there are three games left for us, and we have to do the job in January against Chelsea. It will be a big game, a big derby, so we have to keep going. We know that we are close and we have to learn the lessons from last season.

“At the end of your career we count our trophies, and the Carabao Cup is one of them—and now we are in the semi-final and of course we want to win this competition, like every competition that we play.”

Mikel Arteta has indicated Gabriel Jesus may be in contention to start Arsenal’s Carabao Cup quarterfinal against Crystal Palace on Tuesday. The striker has made three appearances since returning and has frequently spoken about his desire to contribute, saying he has “unfinished business” in north London amid speculation over his future.

“He is [ready to start],” Arteta told his pre-match press conference. “You can see now, not only in games, every day in training, how much he wants it. He’s going to deserve a chance soon.” Arteta added that Jesus’s sharpness on his return to the pitch did not surprise him. “I was watching when he was seven months already on the pitch and the way he was moving and how much he wanted it … I think he wrote a beautiful letter there explaining what football means to him and how it affects his life. I think it was something beautiful.”

Jesus arrived from Manchester City in the summer of 2022 and made an immediate impact, contributing an unexpected number of assists and a respectable goal return. Those contributions came even as the club later invested in Kai Havertz and Viktor Gyökeres over the past two years.

Gyökeres is currently struggling to live up to expectations following his £63.5 million ($85 million) switch from Sporting CP, but Arteta believes Jesus can add something different around the forward line. “I think that’s probably the biggest quality of Gabi, bringing people together, connecting with people and generating a lot of uncertainty in the opponent,” he said. “When you see him today, the amount of spaces that he was involved in, that’s his biggest quality. So we need to exploit that.

“It’s been a really intense journey I would say. I think when he joined us, I think he lifted the belief, the spirit and the energy of the club and the team. I think he gave something very different to what we already had, and it was really impressive.”

Jesus’s next appearance will be his 100th for the Gunners and, if it comes on Tuesday, could help Arsenal secure a place in the Carabao Cup semifinal, where a tie with Chelsea already awaits the winners.