MARTIN ODEGAARD AND RICCARDO CALAFIORI INJURY UPDATE PROVIDED BY MIKEL ARTETA
Mikel Arteta has refused to rule Martin Odegaard and Riccardo Calafiori out of Sunday’s north London derby against Spurs.
The Gunners have been rocked by several unfortunate setbacks over the course of the opening month of the Premier League season.
Summer signing Mikel Merino sustained a serious shoulder injury during his first training session with his new club which will rule him out until late October at least.
Declan Rice, meanwhile, was controversially sent off against Brighton a fortnight ago and will serve a one-game suspension as a result against Spurs.
Arteta’s options looked likely to be further restricted following the setbacks sustained by Odegaard and Calafiori on international duty.
Speaking about their availability ahead of Sunday’s crucial game at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, however, Arteta said: ‘We need some more tests so let’s see what happens in the next day or so, this afternoon proably and see what happens with the extent of the injury and how quickly we can get him back.
‘He is super positive about everything. We know Martin he wants to be there every single day but we have to wait and see.
‘I leave it to the doctors but his will? There is no question about that. He wants to be present in every game and obviously a big game like this one. We have to make sure we know first of all how good he can be, or not.
‘Players with 48 hours to go are always available but let’s see what happens.’
On Calafiori, who is yet to make his first start since his transfer from Bologna, Arteta added: ‘It’s another one where we have to wait a day or so.’
Arsenal will, however, be boosted by the return to full fitness of forward Gabriel Jesus.
The former Manchester City star suffered a groin injury last month which has ruled him out of the last two games against Aston Villa and Brighton.
Jesus has used the international break to step up his rehabilitation and will be in contention to make his first start of the campaign.
‘Gabi was out there [training], he has another session today,’ said Arteta. ‘If everything goes well he will be ready for the squad.’
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Jesus could well feature alongside his former City teammate Raheem Sterling, who is raring to go according to Arteta.
The Arsenal manager said: ‘He looks great. First of all because he has a big smile on his face. A lot of energy. He wants to prove a point. When someone has that in their belly, you sense it straight away.’
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2024-09-13T12:29:42Z dg43tfdfdgfd