**Arsenal**kick off their Champions League campaign at Athletic Club on Tuesday afternoon. Mikel Arteta has a massive week ahead of him, but he believes in the squad depth more than ever before.
‘Viktor is doing really well’
Arteta acknowledged that four men will not be able to participate in the fixture in the Basque Country.
“*Gabriel Jesus**, Kai Havertz, Ben White and Martin Odegaard are still out, unfortunately.”*
Bukayo Saka will also be absent as he continues to build back fitness after a hamstring injury.
“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.”
Rest and rotation with two players per position should help avoid similar situations. Cristhian Mosquera has filled in for William Saliba, who is back from an ankle injury. Noni Madueke is filling in for Saka on the right, and Declan Rice was able to sit out the first hour on the weekend.
“Unfortunately, we have a few players out, so that is limited in certain positions. But hopefully we have come to the point where the competition and the level of performance of the players is so high that we are able to do that very efficiently to win more football matches. That’s our objective.”
Viktor Gyökeres is the new striker for the squad after **Arsenal**paid £63 million for his services from Sporting. Critics questioned whether his clunkier playing style would suit the system of the side, but with three goals against Leeds United and Nottingham Forest, he is doing what matters most.
“At the moment, Viktor is doing really well, so I’m really happy with that.”
If the manager wished to rotate in that role without Kai Havertz, he still has other options available.
“Well, let’s see it. Against Forest at the end, Mikel Merino played as a nine. We have Leandro Trossard who can play there, we have other options and other formations that we can adjust to that.”