As Arsenal prepare to face Fulham at Craven Cottage tomorrow, Mikel Arteta is hopeful that Kieran Tierney and Martin Odegaard will be well enough to be part of the squad.
The duo missed the midweek draw with Sporting due to illness, and it’s unclear as to whether they can make the short trip across London for tomorrow’s game.
Speaking to Sky Sports, the Arsenal boss was asked about their involvement, and said, “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.”
Arteta was also asked about Gabriel Jesus and his potential involvement, sounding a cautiously positive note.
“Well, it’s been a while,” he said. 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.”
❌ Nketiah
❌ Jesus
❌ TrossardMikel Arteta reveals Arsenal have options with a number of forwards currently out pic.twitter.com/ZrbCIKMXVl
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) March 11, 2023
In the interview, Arteta seemed to confirm the continued absences of Leandro Trossard and Eddie Nketiah, so unless there’s a miracle recovery for Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli will continue at centre-forward tomorrow.
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
Vieira do to the job vs city today ..
Sambi to get a hatty
I may watch but only as long as it’s 0-0, or as long as City aren’t winning.
Hopefully I’ll still be watching at around 7:15pm.
This freaking dude Olisse… such an idiot…why….why? So close to a draw and a point …u just go in there and give away a penalty? Gundogan didn’t even have the ball by the time he was fouled…dumb idiot!
So will it be Nelson or ESR on the left wing to get their first Premier League start of the season tomorrow?
Could be Vieira maybe? Or maybe him as false 9 and Martinelli on left
I didn’t think of that. I guess it’s possible, he has started the last two games.
Yeah Ramsdale, Zinchenko, Gabriel, Saliba, White, Partey, Xhaka, Odegaard, Saka, Martinelli, Vieira seems very possible team to me
Fulham don’t have a brilliant defense, but they are organized, so well need someone up top to pull central defenders out of position. My major worry is slow and fouly Tim ream kicking lumps out of saka.
I see the jorginho defense force are out to vote down a simple set of observations
Still going on about Jorginho in response to your own comment that had nothing to do about Jorginho…think you might rate him more than you know!
Why not go with Saka on the left, Martinelli centre and Nelson on the right – they won’t expect that and both Saka and Nelson can play on the opposite wing!!
I hope Arteta rotates his squad. Saka and Ben White are obviously jaded at the moment. It does not bode well for the week ahead.
Stay safe!