Arsenal face Bayer Levekusen in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Wednesday night and Mikel Arteta has given the latest on some injury concerns
Mikel Arteta addresses a press conference
Mikel Arteta gave an injury update in his press conference(Image: Ina FASSBENDER / AFP via Getty Images)
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Arsenal will be without captain Martin Odegaard against Bayer Leverkusen, but centre-back William Saliba has recovered from his injury. The Gunners are in Germany for the first leg of their last-16 tie against Leverkusen and Mikel Arteta gave an injury update in his pre-match press conference.
Odegaard has been missing for the past three Arsenal matches with a knee injury first sustained in the 1-1 draw with Brentford on February 12. He returned for the closing stages of the North London Derby win over Tottenham but has been sidelined ever since.
Saliba has been absent for the last two games against Mansfield and Brighton due to an ankle injury he picked up in the 2-1 win over Chelsea on March 1. Cristhian Mosquera has come into the side for Saliba, but is likely to return to the bench after Arteta's update.
Like Ben White, Odegaard did not train with his team-mates on Tuesday and asked for his status, Arteta replied simply: "He's out". The Arsenal boss then confirmed that Saliba is fit and ready to return to the team, alongside the group of players who were left out of the team on the weekend.
Jurrien Timber, Gabriel Magalhaes, Declan Rice and Martin Zubimendi are all fit and available after being rested for the 2-1 win over Mansfield in the fifth round of the FA Cup. There is slightly more doubt surrounding Leandro Trossard and Riccardo Calafiori, who were forced off against Mansfield.
"Yeah, those two are a possibility that they are available, and we'll see tomorrow how we use them," Arteta said when asked about the duo.
Arsenal are still on course for a quadruple, meaning that Arteta has to rotate his players to keep them as fresh as possible. Wednesday's Champions League tie is followed by a Premier League home game against Everton on Saturday, while the Carabao Cup final against Manchester City is just around the corner, on March 22.
William Saliba
William Saliba will return against Bayer Leverkusen(Image: Getty Images)
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Asked about the challenge they're facing, Arteta said: "The only thing you can take it is game by game and try to, tomorrow, be better than the opposition and then the right to win. We always talk about that. Obviously, we play so many games in different competitions.
"In the next three games, you're going to play in three different competitions, competing against different opponents. You have to adapt to that. You have to, very early in the match, understand what the game is going to require, adapt to it and be better than them."
He added: "We start to play games where you are in or you are out, but there is no margin for manoeuvre, so we're going to face a very difficult contest tomorrow against a really good team."
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