After his side beat Chelsea, 2-1, in a spirited London derby yesterday, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta gave fitness updates on three key players. And by key, we really mean key, as it’s the starting goalkeeper David Raya, team captain Martin Odegaard and the club’s all-time most expensive signing, in Declan Rice.
With the very quick turnaround to the next match, a trip to Brighton, Odegaard is likely ruled out.
Arsenal FC at Brighton & Hove Albion FYIs
Kickoff: Wed. March 4, 7:30 pm, Falmer Stadium, Brighton, UK
PL Form, Standing: Arsenal WDDWWW 1st, 64 pts Brighton DLLWW 11th, 37 pts
Google Result Probability: Arsenal win 58% Draw 23% Brighton win 19%
Arsenal Team News
He missed out entirely on Sunday, due to a knee injury.
Said Arteta: “Unfortunately, Martin is still not feeling totally comfortable with that knee injury, and we decided not to risk him.”
Elsewhere Rice is a doubt, due to a thigh injury, with Arteta saying:
“Declan asked to be substituted, so he needs to be checked before Wednesday. He was feeling some discomfort.”
Moving on to Raya, he should be fine to feature on Wednesday, but Arteta did make some remarks that cast a little bit of doubt on his availability for the next game. Arteta said: “I don’t know what happened in that [final] action. He had some niggles this week, so I don’t know if he’s related to that. But overall, very happy.”
Perhaps the more newsworthy press conference quotes relate to Raya’s heroics on Sunday.
Arteta praised the Spanish shot-stopper for denying Chelsea winger Alejandro Garnacho, whose shot would have pulled the Blues level, and thus, denied Arsenal of two more points.
“David is one of our leaders without a doubt,” Arteta said. “He is a keeper who knows how to maintain his focus and decide a match when you need it.
“Sometimes he doesn’t participate at all and then suddenly he has to act and the save he made in the last action — it was an unbelievable shot and my heart almost stopped, but he kept it out again.”
“It was a fabulous save, but we shouldn’t have been in that position. I try to stay calm, but we weren’t getting the dominance we wanted against ten men.
And then finally, Ben White and Mikel Merino remain sidelined.
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, RG.org and Ratings.org. 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.