A belated Happy Halloween to all Gunners and Gooners everywhere! On all Hallows Eve itself, i.e. this past Friday, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta met the media and provided some updates on his side’s long-term injured players. Was this information trick or treat? We’ll just have to wait and see, for when these guys actually get back on to the pitch. Arteta gave a blanket statement covering the likes of Martin Odegaard, Kai Havertz, Noni Madueke and Gabriel Jesus.
Champions League Match Day 4 of 8 FYIs
Slavia Praha vs Arsenal FC
Kickoff: Tue. Nov. 4, Fortuna Arena, Prague, Czech Republic
Arsenal Preview Material: Team News Injury Updates
UCL Group Phase Standing, Form: Slavia Praha 28th, 2 pts, DLD Arsenal FC 4th, 9 pts WWW
He also gave the media an update on Gabriel Martinelli, so without further ado, let’s dive straight in on these fitness updates. After all, the Champions League clash at Slavia Prague will get here before you know it! It’s already time to preview that match.
Odegaard, Havertz, Jesus, Madueke
Arteta said the following, in regards to the quartet of players recovering from knee injuries:
“I would say weeks, and some of them pretty soon, hopefully, if they keep evolving the way they are doing. Difficult to put a game… We have an Int’ break, and after that, I think we’ll have some back. I don’t know if it’s going to be all of them, some of them, but we’ll be quite close by then.”
Jesus, who has a much more serious knee injury, is looking at a return that will come some time early in the new year. The rest should start to be in contention after this month’s FIFA window.
Martinelli
As for the fifth player we mentioned, “Martinelli is still out,” Arteta said of the Brazilian forward who is suffering from an unspecified issue. “We don’t know yet [how long], but this game comes too soon.”
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.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN.