Mikel Arteta says Arsenal have no new injury concerns ahead of the Carabao Cup final, although it remains to be seen whether Martin Odegaard and Jurrien Timber, both absent for Tuesday’s win over Bayer Leverkusen, will make the squad.
Odegaard is still dealing with the knee problem he picked up last month and has already been left out of Norway’s squad for the upcoming Interlull, which suggests this weekend may come too soon. Timber, meanwhile, suffered an ankle knock in the win over Everton, an issue the manager described as “a matter of days.”
With a first showpiece final in six years on the horizon, Arteta also admitted selecting a matchday squad will not be straightforward. He has 25 players to choose from, including the aforementioned pair, plus Max Dowman and Marli Salmon, but excluding long-term absentee Mikel Merino.
“Yeah, especially because everybody has been involved in the competition and in the last day when you have the option to be at Wembley, not to give the opportunity for somebody to be there is difficult. It’s something to think about.”
Unlike Pep Guardiola, who has already confirmed James Trafford will start in goal for Manchester City, Arteta kept his cards close when asked whether Kepa Arrizabalaga, who has played every minute of the League Cup run, or first-choice goalkeeper David Raya would start.
“We will see how everybody is tomorrow and make a decision,” he said on Friday.
Pressed on whether choosing between goalkeepers is different to selecting outfield players, he added:
“If you talk to the goalkeeping coaches, they are very special, because they are always different. And they are different. It’s a position that is very specific; there’s a lot of history about that \[rotating keepers\], that’s very related to how people have made decisions in the past. When something is different, it sounds different, but we don’t know how it’s going to be in 10 or 20 years time.”
Having been part of Arsenal’s FA Cup win over Hull City in 2014, when Arsene Wenger opted for Lukasz Fabianski over Wojciech Szczesny, Arteta understands the dynamics around big selection calls.
“We don’t have that feeling amongst players, we really trust our teammates, and especially when you work with the quality of the keepers we have right now, both internationals, they’ve played at the highest level and at other clubs, they have the experience to deal with any situation.
“Every decision that you make has an impact. When you pick between two players, normally it’s positive for you, negative for him or the other way round. You need to weigh up everything, every decision, try to be as fair as possible, and sensible. That’s it.”