Arsenal will host Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League last 16 second leg at the Emirates Stadium. The Gunners failed with a Champions League game for the first time in the BayArena.
The game ended in a 1-11 draw due to Kai Havertz’s penalty in the dying moments of the game. Now, the Gunners will be looking to seal the deal at home and qualify for the quarter-final.
So, ahead of this important game for Arsenal this season, Mikel Arteta dropped some massive injury news during his pre-match press conference.
While speaking about Leandro Trossard, Arteta shared a positive update. The Belgian missed Arsenal’s game against Everton in the Premier League. The Gunners’ boss said:
“He’s okay, he felt good so he’s available.”
However, Mikel Arteta shared devastating news regarding his captain, Martin Odegaard, and Jurrien Timber. The Spaniard has informed that both will miss the game against Leverkusen at the Emirates.
So, Mikel Arteta was asked about their availability for the final against Manchester City in the Carabao Cup. He said:
“So we’re really pushing, he really wants to try to be available, but we’ll have to wait and see in the next few days when he trains with the team how he feels.
“We know the game that we’re going to be playing in a few days again, and the more players that we have the better.”
Arteta was informed of the availability of Jurien Timber. The Dutch defender left the pitch, and Cristhian Mosquera replaced him against Everton. The Arsenal boss said:
“We don’t know, I think with him it will be a matter of days, but not sure.”
After that, Arteta shed light on the fitness of Ben White, who featured on the bench in their last two games after picking up an injury during Arsenal’s FA Cup fourth-round tie. He said:
“Yeah, he’s in a much better place, he’s been very unlucky this season in certain moments, he had very, very good moments as well throughout the season, so yeah, we need everybody available, we know what Ben gives us when he’s at his best, and he trained today, he feels good, so we need everybody’s contribution.”
Mikel Arteta will be hoping that he can have his best players on the pitch as the Gunners will be hoping to secure a place in the next round of the Champions League.
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