Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has offered a timely update on his squad’s fitness heading into Saturday’s London derby against Fulham.
Following a demanding midweek Champions League outing against Atletico Madrid, the Gunners are now switching gears back to domestic action, with Arteta hinting at a largely positive situation—albeit with a few key concerns.
“I think [everyone is fine], so let’s see how everybody is tomorrow morning,” said Arteta.
“Obviously, we haven’t been able to train much, so tomorrow we’ll have the final update.”
Attention quickly turns to captain Martin Odegaard, who was withdrawn during the clash in Madrid.
While there is cautious optimism, Arteta stopped short of confirming his availability.
However, there are clearer setbacks elsewhere in the squad.
Both Kai Havertz and Jurrien Timber remain unavailable, dealing with ongoing injury issues that continue to test Arsenal’s depth at a crucial stage of the campaign.
“Yeah Kai and Jurrien will be out. He’s been a huge miss – we’re talking about one of the most important attacking players we have, and he’s been out for seven or eight months.
“Unfortunately, he’s not been the only one with long-term injuries and players have been missed.”
Despite these challenges, Arsenal have stayed firmly in the title race while pushing deep into Europe: a testament to the squad’s resilience and adaptability.
The Spaniard tactician highlighted the team’s ability to cope, even with limited preparation time due to a congested schedule.
“The team has shown an incredible capacity to overcome these kinds of scenarios and still be very, very competitive.
“The focus right now has to be on availability and performance, and Kai is desperate to be on the pitch as quickly as possible.
“Hopefully for Atletico, he will be available, and he’s pushing every boundary to achieve that.”
With fixtures coming thick and fast, Arteta also revealed how his approach has evolved behind the scenes, prioritizing recovery and tactical clarity over extensive training sessions.
“First of all, [it’s about] recovery and clarity on what we have to do, what we expect from the opponent and especially what we have to do to take the game where we want it, to then win it.
“When you don’t have much time on the pitch, you have to do it in other ways – other methods, a lot of collective messages and especially a lot of individual meetings to achieve what we want on the pitch.”
All in all, the Gunners head into the Fulham clash still battling on multiple fronts.
As the final whistle of the season edges closer, the North London outfit’s side remain firmly in contention: balancing fitness, form, and focus in what promises to be a defining stretch.
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