Mikel Arteta gave injury updates on Martin Odegaard, Gabriel Jesus, and Thomas Partey in his press conference ahead of Arsenal’s trip to West Ham.

LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 08: Martin Odegaard of Arsenal celebrates victory on the final whistle during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Manchester City at Emirates Stadium on October 08, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND: Martin Odegaard of Arsenal celebrates victory on the final whistle during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Manchester City at Emirates Stadium on October 08, 2023. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

Gabriel Jesus and Thomas Partey weren’t involved in Arsenal’s 5-0 win over Sheffield United at the weekend, and Martin Odegaard was also dropped to the bench and rested on the day.

Jesus and Partey had suffered injury setbacks over the previous week, and Mikel Arteta confirmed after the game that Odegaard had also been carrying an injury, raising doubts about his involvement this week.

Ahead of Arsenal’s midweek League Cup tie away to West Ham, Arteta gave the latest on the Gunners trio.

On Odegaard, Arteta seemed to suggest it was just a case of managing the player’s minutes, rather than any sort of extended absence from the team.

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“We rested him, the other day,” Arteta said. “So it’s how long we rest him and how we manage now the minutes and the rhythm that he needs as well to be at his best.

“It’s impossible to play with no niggles in football at this level when you have games every three days. It’s impossible.

“If you try to do that then you better stay in bed because I don’t know any players that are constantly perfect to be in the best possible condition, so you have to adapt.”

SEVILLE, SPAIN - OCTOBER 24: Gabriel Jesus of Arsenal FC in action during the UEFA Champions League match between Sevilla FC and Arsenal FC at Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan on October 24, 2023 in Seville, Spain. (Photo by Fran Santiago/Getty Images)
SEVILLE, SPAIN: Gabriel Jesus of Arsenal FC in action during the UEFA Champions League match between Sevilla FC and Arsenal FC at Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan on October 24, 2023. (Photo by Fran Santiago/Getty Images)

When it came to Jesus, Arteta refused to be drawn on a timeline, suggesting Arsenal need to be careful but the player is already pushing to be back as quickly as possible.

“With him, honestly I’m not going to put any (timeframe) because I did it once and got it totally wrong,” Arteta smiled.

“We need to be cautious because we need to treat (him) in the right way. But he’s already pushing everybody. He wants to be back as quick as possible. And we need him, so that’s great.”

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 21: Thomas Partey of Arsenal in action during the Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Arsenal FC at Selhurst Park on August 21, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND: Thomas Partey of Arsenal in action during the Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Arsenal FC at Selhurst Park on August 21, 2023. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

Finally, the only concrete information from Arteta’s press conference is that Partey is set to miss a number of weeks of football.

“I think he will be out for weeks,” Arteta confirmed. “I don’t know how long. He’s got another appointment today. We will see more after that.”

Jurrien Timber also remains absent with his long-term knee injury.

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