Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta is dealing with several injury concerns ahead of his side’s home fixture against Crystal Palace. The Gunners are currently leading the pack in the Premier League and three points clear of Manchester City.
Arteta’s team heads into the Crystal Palace London Derby fixture at the Emirates Stadium at Sunday at home with a 2pm kick-off.
The Gooners go in immense confidence on the back of a 4-0 thumping of Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Champions League. Arsenal are eyeing to capitalise on the three points on offer and build on their impressive start to the season.
However, the task will not be easy against the Eagles, given the lack of options on offer for Arteta in attack. The Gunners are dealing with injuries to several first-team starters at the same time, like Martin Odegaard, Noni Madueke, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus. At Essential Football, we have put together all the details regarding their return from action and their current progress in their respective injuries.
Martin Odegaard
The Arsenal captain has had a timid start to the season, and injuries have played spoilsport. Martin Odegaard’s injury concerns started with his shoulder at the beginning of the season. Following his return, the playmaker picked up a medical collateral ligament injury, which has kept him on the sidelines ever since the West Ham United fixture. Odegaard is expected to return to action in the last week of November against Tottenham Hotspur. The player will miss seven important fixtures in the process of recovery.
Noni Madueke
The summer recruit has been unlucky with injuries since his arrival from cross-town rivals Chelsea. Noni Madueke picked up a knee injury against Manchester City and has spent time on the sidelines ever since. While the exact return date for Madueke is not available, it is understood that a return could be seen in November. Arteta will need to see his star attacker back on the field of play if Arsenal are to continue their progress this campaign. The Spanish gaffer spoke about Madueke after his injury and has been quoted as saying by the Standard –
“It looks like he is going to be out for a few weeks. We don’t really know yet. Probably we are going to have to scan him next week again.
He felt something at the beginning of the match. He tried to carry on and at half-time it was too sore, so let’s see.”
Kai Havertz
The German international has not featured for Arsenal this season, except for the win against Manchester United on the inaugural day of the Premier League season. There has not been much chatter from the Arsenal camp regarding the possible return to action for Kai Havertz. The attacker could potentially return from his knee injury in November, around the International break. Here is what Arteta spoke about Havertz’ condition last week –
“There is still a lot to do in his rehab. He is really pushing it but we have to wait and see.
He wants to break every timeline, I am sure. But we have to protect him and make sure that when he comes back, he comes back for the long-term.”
Gabriel Jesus
The Brazilian attacker has spent a staggering amount of time on the sidelines. Jesus’ last appearance for the Gunners came way back in January. Arteta shed some light on the situation surrounding Jesus recently and affirmed the Arsenal faithful that his recovery was on the correct path. Here is what the manager spoke about Jesus –
“Gabi is doing super well. I think he looks in a really good place. Obviously, it’s a massive injury, and we need to come from that in a really strong way, but certainly he’s in the right place and making very strong strides.”
The possible return to injury for Jesus could be in December after spending nearly an entire year on the sidelines. With four star players set to return in the near future, Arsenal are looking like a threatening team for the Premier League title and Europe.