Mikel Arteta admits Arsenal ‘trying into’ damage woes as 4 unavailable vs Wolves
Mikel Arteta has admitted that Arsenal are ‘looking into’ their ongoing injury woes as four players have been ruled out of Wednesday night’s clash against Wolves
Mikel Arteta has ruled four players out of the Wolves clash(Image: David Price, Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
Mikel Arteta has revealed that four Arsenal players will be absent for Wednesday’s Premier League encounter with Wolves. The Gunners travel to Molineux with the opportunity to establish a seven-point advantage at the summit of the table.
However, Arteta won’t be able to rely on several crucial players after Arsenal’s injury list expanded during their emphatic 4-0 triumph at home to Wigan Athletic. Riccardo Calafiori picked up an injury during the warm-up before Ben White was forced off in the second half of the FA Cup fourth round fixture.
Nevertheless, Arteta remains optimistic that both players will be ready to face Wolves. Speaking at his pre-match press conference, the Arsenal manager began: “[Calafiori] is fine. He was training with us today, he’s feeling better and hopefully he’s fit tomorrow. It was just a bit of fatigue [for White], he did a lot in the game, and was feeling a bit of tightness.”
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There was more concerning news regarding Martin Odegaard and Kai Havertz, who’ll both be unavailable for the journey to Wolverhampton. Though the pair could make their comeback in the North London derby at Tottenham on Sunday.
“For Wolves, he is not going to be fit, but for Sunday we are hopeful,” Arteta continued. “Kai, for the weekend is a possibility.”
The Gunners’ boss also confirmed that they’re ‘looking into’ the fact that they’ve suffered five injuries during warmups this season.
“The first time was William [Saliba] at Liverpool, two with Riccardo and then Bukayo [Saka] at Leeds,” Arteta elaborated. “Very unusual. Probably happen once or twice in six years. We are looking into it.”
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Mikel Merino is also out of action after undergoing surgery on a broken foot, joining Max Dowman in the medical room. When asked for an update on Merino’s recovery, Arteta responded: “He’s with us now, and he’s involved in every meeting.
“The body demands and the mind demands some time in a different part of the world. Then he’ll be with us later on in the season again.”
Arteta made sweeping changes to his starting eleven against Wigan and managed to rest Saliba, who missed last Thursday’s 1-1 draw at Brentford due to illness.
The reason Arsenal are playing on Wednesday is because of their participation in next month’s Carabao Cup final against Manchester City. In City’s case, they can’t play this week because Crystal Palace, who Pep Guardiola’s team were scheduled to face on the weekend of March 22, are in Europa League action.
On the title race, Arteta commented: “The position that we are in is a privilege. Seven or eight months is a long time to be where we are. We’re going to embrace it. Tomorrow is going to be a really tough match.”
