Arsenal fans are obviously over the moon that we are right at the top of the League with a 100% winning record, but with our biggest test so far coming up on Sunday at Old Trafford, we could suddenly be derailed by our incredible glut of injuries.
We all know Reiss Nelson is a long term injury, and last week we found out that Mo Elneny is going to join him for a long period on the treatment table. Thomas Partey may not be quite as bad, but as we know from previous injuries to our top midfielder, you can never tell when he will be ready to return. As Arteta said yesterday in his press conference: “With Mo it’s probably a little bit easier and we are talking months,” he said. “With Thomas, hopefully we are talking weeks or even shorter than that I hope.
“We have tried to manage [Thomas]. A lot has happened since he joined and we are trying to find the best possible way to find the reason why that happens, but unfortunately, the body and mind are two different groups so sometimes to understand that you can’t put your finger on a single thing to try to prevent something happening.
“The attitude of the player is there and he’s really disappointed to be out again as you can imagine, and the team needs him when he’s back.”
Also in midweek against Fulham, both Ramsdale and Odegaard took bad knocks and both cannot train just yet and are unlikely to be available. There was some hope that Oleks Zinchenko would be able to return to the squad and be used alongside Xhaka, but Arteta ruled that out as well although he gave us a little hope on the first two. “Those two [Ramsdale and Odegaard] are being assessed, we will see more tomorrow. Hopefully they will be able to train with the team.
“Unfortunately with Alex [Zinchenko] that’s still not the case, he missed two games and has not been able to train with the team yet.”
So that could leave us with six first team players out of the squad, and with a Europa League game coming up on Thursday as well, Arteta must be getting worried about overplaying the remaining members of the fit club.
But, right now, we just have to worry about visiting Man United at Old Trafford.
We can but hope that whoever does play can show the same confidence and mentality as we have done so far….
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Arteta talks about Man United hopes, midfielder injuries and the chase for Douglas Luiz.
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