Mikel Arteta provided updates on Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz, and Martin Odegaard following Saturday’s win over Fulham, with the semi-final second leg against Atletico Madrid just days away.
Bukayo Saka made his return to the starting lineup in emphatic fashion against Fulham on Saturday, starring in a dominant 3-0 first-half display before coming off at half-time.
Mikel Arteta confirmed that the early substitution was related to Saka’s fitness, but suggested the winger is feeling good now.
“We had to (take him off), he played 30-odd minutes in Madrid, now he’s played 45 minutes,” Arteta said. “We need to ramp up his load but we need to be careful because we need him on that pitch.
“He’s fresh, his mind is fresh, his hunger is at the highest possible height and I think he needed a performance like that to impact the team, so that’s a big platform for Tuesday.
“I think the pain is gone and that was obviously something that was restricting his capacity to deliver certain actions. Today he felt loose, he felt relaxed and I think we had the Bukayo that we need back.”
The other major injury doubts for Tuesday’s game will be Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard, both of whom were absent on Saturday.
Arteta told the media he thinks they’ll both be back for Tuesday, and that the club will be doing everything to make that possible.
“I think so, that both of them, they’re going to do everything, we’re going to do everything to have them ready for the game,” Arteta told beIN SPORTS.
Arsenal’s only other injury-sufferers are Mikel Merino and Jurrien Timber. Merino will certainly miss Tuesday’s game, and Timber is very likely to as well.
Timber was in attendance at the Emirates Stadium for Saturday’s match, and there’s reportedly hope he’ll play before the end of the season, but it doesn’t seem like he’ll be ready imminently.
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