Arsenal manager, Mikel Arteta, has provided a fitness update on key players Martin Ødegaard, Ben White, and Bukayo Saka ahead of the Gunners’ Champions League opener against Athletic Club.
Ødegaard had to be substituted after just 18 minutes during the 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest due to a shoulder injury, with Ethan Nwaneri taking his place.
Meanwhile, Ben White has yet to feature since starting against Manchester United at Old Trafford on August 17, and Saka left the pitch during the Leeds United clash on August 23.
Speaking to the media in Bilbao ahead of the San Mamés encounter, Arteta offered insights into the availability of his stars, as well as updates on Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus.
“Gabi, Kai, Ben and Martin are still out, unfortunately,” he confirmed.
Regarding Saka’s recovery, Arteta added, “No, I think there are still quite a lot of things to go through. It’s very early to understand when and which week he’s going to be available. But he will certainly be pushing to be available as quickly as possible.”
With Jesus and Havertz sidelined by knee injuries, Viktor Gyökeres has led the line in every match this season.
Arteta also highlighted the squad depth when discussing rotation, pointing out that last season Mikel Merino had been deployed as a striker.
“Against Forest at the end, Mikel [Merino] played as a nine. We have Leo [Trossard] who can play there, we have other options and other formations that we can adjust to that. At the moment, Viktor is doing really well, so I’m really happy with that.
“Unfortunately, we have a few players already out, so that is already limited in certain positions. But hopefully we come to the point that the competition and the level of performance of the players are so high that we are able to do that very efficiently to win more football matches as our objective.”
