Mikel Arteta is keeping his cards close to his chest on the team-news front, hinting that Arsenal could welcome back a few injured players for Sunday’s clash with Sp\*rs, while confirming Riccardo Calafiori hasn’t trained since returning prematurely from Italy duty.
The hope was that the Interlull would clear the decks, but a setback for Kai Havertz – out since August after knee surgery – and a new injury for Gabriel Magalhaes, who faces up to two months out, means the treatment room remains crowded.
There’s optimism that Martin Odegaard will be available, but the situations of Noni Madueke, Viktor Gyokeres and Gabriel Martinelli are far less clear.
“Tomorrow we’ll have more clarity,” said Arteta in his weekly press conference. “I’m hopeful, but \[with certainty\] I can’t tell you.”
And while Gabriel Jesus is back in full training, the fact he hasn’t featured in a behind-closed-doors friendly or with the under-23s suggests he’s still some way from true match sharpness.
On losing Gabriel to injury, sustained during Brazil’s friendly win over Senegal at the Emirates last weekend, Arteta said: “He’s going to be out for weeks. We need to have another scan next Wednesday, and we will have the timeline much more clear.”
As for how his team copes with such a talismanic presence, the boss continued: “He’s our leader in our back line, and it’s never a positive thing. People have to stand up now and do their job.”
On Calafiori, he had this update. “Yeah, he wasn’t available; he’s been carrying a few things, and we had to bring him back \[from Italy\]. He hasn’t trained yet; we have a session tomorrow, so we will see.”
Even without a full squad, Arsenal should be confident. Mikel Arteta’s side are on a 14-game unbeaten streak, a run that stretches back to August, and haven’t lost to Sp\*rs on home territory in the league since 2010.
At the same time, Manchester City do have an early opportunity to up the ante. Should Pep Guardiola’s side beat Newcastle at St James’ Park on Saturday evening, they will cut the Gunners’ lead at the top to one point.