Mikel Arteta provided a positive injury update on Viktor Gyokeres and Martin Odegaard after Arsenal’s derby-day demolition of Tottenham Hotspur.
Arsenal welcomed injured forwards Gabriel Martinelli and Noni Madueke back into their matchday squad for Sunday’s game against Tottenham Hotspur, but five other players remained absent.
Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Magalhaes, and Kai Havertz were all unsurprising absentees, but there had been some hope ahead of the game that Martin Odegaard and Viktor Gyokeres might make it back in time.
Ahead of the match, Mikel Arteta confirmed that both players were very close to featuring against Spurs, raising hopes that they might be involved against Bayern Munich or Chelsea later this week.
“Yeah, they were very close, and Martin (Odegaard) as well,” Arteta said of the pair.
“Unfortunately, [Odegaard] wasn’t 100% to be involved in such a game, but Noni [Madueke] is back and Gabriel [Martinelli] being back is a boost for us.”
Madueke made his return to the pitch as a substitute against Spurs, though Martinelli remained on the bench. The fact that both are available to be selected this week is certainly a boost for the team.
As for Gyokeres and Odegaard, it remains to be seen exactly when they’ll make their on-field comebacks, but if they were really as close as Arteta suggests then it shouldn’t be long now.
Arteta had confirmed earlier in the week that the club plan to put on some internal matches to get Jesus up to speed, whilst Germany boss Julian Nagelsmann revealed that Havertz has “had minor relapse on his injury”, and he’s “expected to return towards the end of the year”.
As for Gabriel, there’s no expectation the centre-back will be involved for at least the next month, with Sami Mokbel recently reporting for the BBC that he could be out until January.