Mikel Arteta’s injury crisis is easing ahead of Arsenal’s Champions League clash with German champions Bayern Munich at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night.
Arsenal’s injury nightmare appears to be easing in time for their clash with European giants Bayern Munich. The Gunners have historically found it tough against the German giants, with their last win dating back to October 2015.
More than a decade on, Mikel Arteta has turned Arsenal into favorites to win this season’s Champions League. The North London side reached the semi-finals last season and given the depth of their squad, they will be aiming even higher this time around.
A top-eight finish is already within reach, but Bayern Munich, who boast a talented squad, will undoubtedly be a tough test. Much of Arsenal’s success will depend on whether their key players can stay healthy throughout the season and how well the rest of the group can step up if injuries occur.
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The Gunners have been hit hard by injuries this season, at times missing as many as eight first-team players. Also included are stars such as Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard. However, the situation appears to be improving, with three players returning for Arsenal’s recent win in the North London derby against Tottenham.
Riccardo Calafioli, Noni Madueke and Gabriel Martinelli have all returned from injury and are in contention for selection. It’s a timely boost for manager Mikel Arteta, but more positive injury news is expected to arrive this week.
Captains Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Jesus were seen taking part in full training ahead of the showdown with Bayern Munich and are well placed to be in Wednesday night’s match-day squad. However, it remains unclear how quickly Arteta wants them back in action.
Odegaard has been plagued by a variety of injuries this season, including two shoulder problems that hampered his start to the season. His latest setback was suffering a knee problem in early October.
The club captain is now back in training and could be recalled to the squad to face Bayern Munich. However, given his own fitness and the form of Eberechi Eze, he may be left out of the starting lineup for now.
For Jesus, the road back to full fitness was a long one. Earlier this year, the Brazilian suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in the FA Cup match against Manchester United, which kept him out for an extended period of time.
He is now back in training, but will still need conditioning work to get back to full fitness for the match.
“To be fair, he’s very close,” Arteta told reporters before the game against Bayern Munich. “And it’s sooner than we expected. In the next few days he will take another step in the matches that we organize for him. So after that he will just knock on the door, because he is the winner Gabriel, so that’s how it happened.”
That leaves the manager with three main injury concerns at the moment, with Gabriel Magalhães sidelined with a thigh problem, while Kai Havertz and summer signing Victor Goqueres remain on the treatment table.
Commenting on the latter pair, Arteta said: “Both of them were really good. Over the next few days they’ll have another scan to see how everything is going and where they can push towards the weekend.”
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