Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta admitted to fearing that injuries would slow down the XXL ambitions of his team, still engaged on all fronts this season. Already deprived of several executives, the Spanish technician saw Martin Ødegaard miss the FA Cup match against Wigan, while Kai Havertz and Mikel Merino also remain unavailable. A situation which even forced him to reposition Bukayo Saka in the midfield. “Before, it was the attackers, then the defenders, now it’s the midfielders”he whispered.
Still in the running for a historic quadruple – leaders in the Premier League, finalists in the League Cup and qualified for the final phase of C1 – the Gunners are however starting to worry. Arteta hopes to quickly recover his strength to maintain the hellish pace imposed by the schedule. “We continue to deal with this situation, but we need some players to come back and be fit… The sooner the better. »he added at a press conference.
