It was a very rough weekend for Arsenal, who suffered a hugely disappointing loss to AFC Bournemouth on Saturday. Couple that with Manchester City’s thrashing of Chelsea on Sunday, and now, the Premier League title race is once again tightening up. It also doesn’t help that their team captain, Martin Odegaard, tweaked his knee again last week, in the victorious first leg of the Gunners’ Champions League quarterfinal tie with Sporting Lisbon.
Arsenal vs Sporting Lisbon FYIs
Kick: Wed. April 15, 8pm Emirates Stadium, London, UK
Competition: Champions League Quarterfinal, Leg 2/2
Aggregate: Arsenal leads 1-0
Google Result Probability for 90 minutes: Arsenal win 66% Extra Time 20% Sporting Lisbon win 14%
Arsenal Team News
“Yeah, obviously he’s a very important player for us, but he had another niggle during the midweek game and wasn’t available for today,” Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said, regarding the stellar Norwegian, after he missed out in the home loss to the Cherries.
Also missing out, in that morale crushing defeat were Jurrien Timber (groin/hip/pelvic region), Bukayo Saka (unspecifed/other) and Riccardo Calafiori (knock).
All three join Odegaard in the “50/50 proposition” and/or “must pass a late fitness test in order to make the matchday squad” category for the second leg against Sporting, coming up at the Emirates, on Wednesday night.
So Arsenal have plenty of injury/fitness concerns as we head into the run in. Also, just in case you missed it, Arteta gave an update on midfield maestro Mikel Merino on Friday.
Apparently, he might not totally be done for the season after all. He seems to be moving along ahead of schedule now, as he continues his ankle injury recovery.
“He’s another one that is going to push every boundary,” Arteta said. “He’s out of his boot now. He’s doing quite a lot of exercises already.
“He’s reacted really well to the surgery. He’s got no pain…I’m sure there is a chance to make that period shorter.”
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, Ratings and RG. 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 and the Washington Post.