Mikel Arteta’s squad has been riddled with injuries to many major players over that past month, however the Spanish manager has provided some positive news for Arsenal fans.
Arteta was asked if captain Martin Odegaard will be available for selection against Brentford.
“Hopefully, yes. We have another training session today but he’s been progressing well and hopefully he will be available”, Arteta said.
Thanks to a hip-issue, the Danish playmaker was unable to feature for Norway over the International break in their clashes against Scotland and Faroe Islands, thus his possible return will come as a welcome surprise for the Gunners.
“He got more delayed than we wanted. But we have to protect the player”, Arteta said of his captain.
“[Jesus is] available. He played 96 minutes in a really competitive match. We have another session. They had a long flight and I have to see the condition of every single player to make the final call on the lineup”, Arteta said of Gabriel Jesus’ possible inclusion against the Bees after the Brazilian has likewise struggled with injury.
On the topic of Ben White’s fitness, the manager was less certain.
“Again, hopefully if [White’s] available to train today, he will be available to play. It’s a question mark to be resolved in the next few hours.”
David Raya is unable to feature because he is still on loan from Brentford and thus cannot play against his parent club, therefore Aaron Ramsdale will be granted the chance to start again.
“No, I think every player is willing to play. They’re all excited to play. They’re always expecting to play. Sometimes there’s disappointment the day before or a few hours before the match, but every player is willing to play.”
Arteta shared his thoughts on why he has a decent record against Brentford, a side that have been consistently impressive when facing the Premier League’s top teams.
“It depends on how you look at it because two years ago we had a really tough start to the campaign. We learned from that. They’re a really tough opponent – it’s a really difficult place to be.
You look at their start and [the record of] other clubs going there. They make it extremely difficult. They are really effective, really well-coached and it will be a tough, tough match tomorrow”.
