Arsenal travel to Molineux to face relegation-threatened Wolverhampton Wanderers on Wednesday evening and boss Mikel Arteta has provided an injury update for four key players.
Looking to get back on the winning train after a minor slip-up – a 1-1 draw with Brentford – last time out, the Gunners will be hoping to be as close to fully fit as possible.
The Emirates Stadium faithful will be making the away trip in their numbers and thus hoping that Arteta has the best chance possible of extending the gap to seven points at the top of the Premier League table by fielding his strongest-possible starting line-up.
Odegaard still out after missing FA Cup win
Martin Odegaard missed out on Arsenal’s FA Cup win over Wigan Athletic on the weekend and the Norwegian is also set to miss his side’s trip to Molineux.
“For Wolves, he [Odegaard] is not going to be fit but for Sunday we are very hopeful that he can be with us,” said Arteta.
Despite not being at the races much this term, having Odegaard out of action will harm the Spaniard’s ability to rotate and rest players given the fixtures continue to come thick and fast.
Bukayo Saka, however, could offer Arteta a reprieve. The Englishman, typically a right winger, played in a more central role against Wigan on the weekend – and Arteta has since claimed that could be an option moving forward.
Elsewhere, Kai Havertz remains sidelined but Arteta did claim the German could be back on the pitch on the weekend. “Kai [Havertz] is the other one that, again, for the weekend is a possibility so looking forward to having him in the squad,” he said.
Two players back in contention to play Wolves
The bad news aside, Arteta has confirmed that defensive duo Ben White and Riccardo Calafiori are back in contention to start – or even play – against Rob Edwards’ Wolves.
Calafiori was initially set to play against Wigan but pulled up in the warm-up while White played 79 minutes before being replaced.
“He [Calafiori] is fine. He was training with us today, feeling better, and hopefully he’s fit for tomorrow,” said the boss.
On White, he added: “It was just a bit of fatigue. He did a lot int he game and by the end of it he was feeling a bit of tightness in the hamstring but it’s fine.”
Between now and the end of the campaign, Arteta will be hoping for some more good news on the injury front as, by virtue of competing on all fronts, the matches continue to come thick and fast.
