Community Shield 2026 — Rice, Saka, and Zubimendi fit for Arsenal; Timber misses out

Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, and Martin Zubimendi could all feature for Arsenal in the Community Shield. | Photo Credit: REUTERS

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has confirmed that Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, and Martin Zubimendi will be fit to appear for Arsenal in the Community Shield 2026 against Manchester City on Sunday, August 16.

All three players had deep runs in the FIFA World Cup 2026. Rice and Saka reached the semifinals with England, while Zubimendi was a member of the winning Spain squad.

None of the three have appeared in any of Arsenal’s pre-season matches.

However, Arteta confirmed that all three were in contention to feature on Sunday, saying, “They will be available, they trained with us today, they will train tomorrow and if they are in the condition that we expect them to be, they will be involved.”

Rice and Saka were both nursing injuries throughout the tournament, and did not feature in a few games as part of their management. The Spaniard said that the pair were on individual plans and were recovering well.

“We haven’t noticed anything; they had individual plans through the time that they had with the national team. They’ve been trying to evolve those issues and they have improved. 

“In the rest period that they had, they both had specific programmes for themselves. They’ve been doing those and so far, what I saw the last two or three days, it was really good,” the 44-year-old said.

ALSO READ: Arteta tells Arsenal fans not to fret over his future

Arteta also said that Sunday’s game would arrive too early for Dutch defender Jurrien Timber, who missed the World Cup with a groin injury.

“Jurrien is progressing really well,” he said, “he is on the pitch, we are ramping up now with certain actions and especially the volume and the load. 

“I think he is on a good trajectory, but there is still a few weeks to go.”

Published on Aug 15, 2026

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