Five Arsenal players guaranteed to miss Fulham with new Odegaard update
Mikel Arteta is optimistic that his team can bounce back from a series of untimely illnesses and injuries as Arsenal gets ready for a brief journey to Fulham.
Despite playing against Sporting CP during the week, the Gunners were without a number of essential players.
Martin Odegaard and Kieran Tierney were absent due to an illness that appears to be spreading across the nation, while a few other players were also sidelined with minor injuries, hoping to make a quick return.
Arteta is facing a difficult situation as he attempts to manage his team’s competing priorities in both the title race and the pursuit of a first continental championship, while also keeping an eye on the upcoming Europa League return leg on Thursday.
The timing of the illness and injury setbacks has made it even more challenging for him to balance the squad and prepare for the match against Fulham, which is causing him considerable concern.
Even the captain isn’t a sure-fire to come back in with Arteta saying, “In other moments we had total control of the game and we lost a little bit of threat today, especially with the four players we are missing in our frontline (Odegaard, Jesus, Trossard and Nketiah).” He also added: “I hope so. Martin was feeling better, then became a little worse so we’ll see after training today.
“We will know more this afternoon, we haven’t trained yet. We have a few players in contention. This afternoon, hopefully, we’ll have a clear picture of who is available and who is not.”
He also added, “I hope they do [train]. Martin was feeling better and then he became a little bit worse, but hopefully he is able to train today.”
Supporters are eagerly anticipating the potential comeback of Gabriel Jesus, who has resumed training and appeared to be in good form. However, he did not join his team on their trip to Portugal for the Europa League match.
“We will try not to rush him back, we will try to make a fair assessment between what he needs and when is comfortable and as well giving the team a boost that it’s going to need in the next few weeks for sure,” Arteta explained.
“Everything is going well, he needs time as well to get himself that confidence and that physical state that is necessary to compete with a free mind and once he’s free to do that, we will throw him in.” He has also added: “Well, it’s been a while. He had a bad injury and he’s been pushing the boundaries and trying to get the recovery as soon as possible.
“But the reality is when he’s started to do some activities, he’s feeling he needs a bit more time. Is that a matter of days? Hopefully yes, more than a matter of weeks! He needs to feel confident, and comfortable and ready for it – especially the way he plays. We need him at his best, so the moment he’s ready he’ll be thrown on the field.”
The forward line is currently facing the most significant issues, particularly with Leandro Trossard’s struggles. He was forced to leave the match against Bournemouth last week due to an injury and is currently facing challenges in his recovery.
e wasn’t in training ahead of the weekend either with Arteta saying, “It is a worry, he came to me straight away and said he couldn’t continue, he’d felt something when he was tracking back, so we had to take him off”. We’ll assess him and see how he is.”
He has since confirmed Trossard’s absence, saying: “We have Gabby out, Eddie [Nketiah] out and Leo [Trossard] out.” Before that, the last that was said on Nketiah was: “We are assessing him. It’s a bit uncertain what will happen with him to be honest in the training sessions.
“Let’s see, let’s keep the options open. He’s very positive about it and hopefully he’ll be fine.” That now seems to be a big doubt for the game at Craven Cottage. Tierney is another in the uncertain camp. He left training early with illness last week. “Let’s see how they (Tierney, Leandro Trossard and Eddie Nketiah) evolve,” Arteta said.
“Obviously we’ve had a few issues in the last few days and I am trying to accommodate everybody and get everyone in the best possible condition for tomorrow.”
Mohamed Elneny is still recovering from a long-term injury and is currently unavailable to play.
Five Arsenal players guaranteed to miss Fulham with new Odegaard update