Mikel Arteta confirms triple injury boost for Arsenal ahead of Brentford game
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has confirmed that Martin Odegaard, Gabriel Jesus and Ben White are in contention to face Brentford in the Premier League on Saturday.
The Gunners are currently on 27 points after 12 games into the season. They are just one point adrift of leaders Manchester City, who face Liverpool in tomorrow’s early kick-off.
The north London outfit have a chance to finish top of the table by the end of the day and they have been handed a big boost with the availability of three key players.
Jesus returned from a hamstring injury during Brazil’s World Cup qualifier defeat to Argentina this week and Arteta has confirmed that he is available to face Thomas Frank’s side.
The Spanish tactician highlighted that the forward has arrived from a long flight and that would be taken into consideration before naming his line-up for the London derby.
He told Arsenal.com: “He’s available. He played 96, 97 minutes in a very competitive match, so we have another session and they had a long flight so I have to see the condition of every single player to make the call on the line-up.”
The Gunners boss added that captain Odegaard has been progressing well after recovering from concussion and he could be involved in tomorrow’s late kick-off.
He said: “Hopefully he is available. We have another training session today but he has been progressing well. We didn’t know how many days he’d need to be out and in the end it got more delayed than we wanted but we had to protect the player.”
White is another candidate who could make the squad. He missed the Burnley win with a muscle issue. Arteta said that he will be eligible to play if he is able to train later today.
He concluded: “Again, hopefully if he is able to train today he will be eligible to play, but it’s a question mark to be resolved in the next few hours.”
Arsenal handed triple injury boost for London derby
The Gunners have not been playing with the same attacking freedom as last season, but they have been picking up crucial points in the Premier League and Champions League.
The club have lost just one game in the top-flight so far and Arteta will be anticipating another three points when his players face the Bees at the Gtech Stadium tomorrow.
Ahead of the game, Arsenal have received a triple injury boost. Out of the trio, Odegaard’s availability is probably the biggest positive. The Gunners have missed his creativity.
Kai Havertz has shown signs of improvement with his positioning and movement, but he lacks the dribbling skills and ability to provide key passes from the number 10 role.
The Gunners lost to the Bees on the road in the 2021/22 season, but they have since been victorious in two visits to the stadium. They beat them in the Carabao Cup third round in September.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com
