Mikel Arteta provides update on Arsenal injury crisis ahead of Spurs clash

Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal come to blows this weekend in the first North London derby of the season, and the Gunners could be without a number of key players. Their manager, Mikel Arteta, has been speaking to the press about the condition of his squad.

Mikel Arteta playing the waiting game with injuries

With a full squad, Arsenal are an incredibly difficult team to beat. The Gunners have gradually improved over the last few years and are now considered the main challengers to Manchester City in the Premier League.

But, the North London derby does not care for form or how close you were to winning the title last season. It is a fixture fuelled by intense rivalry that any side can win.

However, it is Arsenal who have dominated the last few meetings, and Spurs have not beaten the Gunners since 2022, home or away.

This time around, Arteta may have to take on Spurs without many of his best players. Speaking to the press today ahead of the weekend’s action, the Arsenal manager delivered an update on those who are potentially injured.

On his captain, Martin Odegaard, Arteta said (via Football.London): “We need some more tests. Let’s see what happens in the next day or so. This afternoon probably. Let’s see the extent of the injury and how quickly we can get him back. Martin wants to be here every day but we have to wait and see.

“I leave that to the doctor. He’s willing and he wants to be present in every game. We need to make sure we know first how good he is or not. Players with 48 hours are always available. Let’s see what happens.”

Merino, Calafiori, and Jesus updates

Meanwhile, Gabriel Jesus has been out of action for a while, but Arteta had some good news on the striker, adding: “Gabi was out there. He’s got another session tomorrow and if everything goes well he’ll be with us.”

Defender Riccardo Calafiori was injured on international duty with Italy and has been assessed by his club for the calf issue. On the Italian, Arteta said: “He’s another one where we’ll have to wait another day.”

And finally, new signing Mikel Merino, who is yet to play for the Gunners, is still some way off a return, with Arteta saying: “He’s better, it’s a slow process and it takes a while to heal. We’re using this time to make sure he understands and is back to help the team straight away.”

Arsenal will also be without Declan Rice, who is suspended after picking up a red card in his last game.

Spurs Web Opinion

You just know that Odegaard is going to make a miraculous recovery and absolutely run the game on Sunday. It’s just our luck, and I would not be surprised if his injury is being played up to keep us guessing and hinder our preparations.

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