Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has two major fitness concerns to contemplate before he fills out his team sheet at Athletic Club on Tuesday night. Team Captain Martin Odegaard has a shoulder injury, and although it is not serious, his chances of featuring in midweek do not look good.
“He wasn’t comfortable continuing, he’s played two games with Norway, unfortunately he cannot carry on today,” Arteta said after the 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest yesterday. “So we have to assess him with the doctors and see but I’m sure he will try his best to be fit for Tuesday.”
UEFA Champions League Matchday 1 of 8
Arsenal FC at Athletic Club
Kickoff: Tue. Sept 16, 5:45pm, San Mames, Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain
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He was then asked if the Norwegian will require surgery in order to fix the shoulder problem.
“No, I don’t think that,” the Gunners boss responded.
“I’m not an expert but they [the doctors] weren’t concerned at that level at all. The last time in a few days he was able to manage the pain especially as the injury wasn’t that bad. I don’t know the extent of today’s [injury] but hopefully [he’ll be okay].”
As for Saliba, here’s how he responded when asked about the French central defender:
“He trained yesterday and he did the whole session and he was OK. I spoke to him afterwards and he said I think I need a few more days. The turnaround has been too quick for the extent of the injury so when a player says that, don’t push it.”
We picked one of the players in our lineup prediction, but not the other.
Arsenal Starting Lineup Prediction at Athletic Club (Champions League)
David Raya; Jurrien Timber, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, Miles Lewis-Skelly; Mikel Merino, Martin Zubimendi, Declan Rice; Gabriel Martinelli, Eberechi Eze, Viktor Gyokeres
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
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