Arteta has ‘good news’ on defender as Arsenal boss confirms two ‘definitely out’ v Newcastle
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is hopeful Gabriel Magalhaes can play against Newcastle United but has ruled out club captain Martin Odegaard.
The Gunners have suffered more injuries than any other Premier League clubs this season and centre-back Gabriel limped off in the second half of last Sunday’s 2-2 draw against title rivals Liverpool.
Arteta says the Brazilian has not trained this week but Friday’s session will determine if he can feature at St James’ Park.
“Yes, it’s good news on Gabriel,” Arteta said at his pre-match press conference.
“We have a training session today. If he can complete that he will be available. He hasn’t had any training session yet but if he’s able to do that today he will be available in the squad.”
Arteta added that summer signing Riccardo Calafiori and captain Odegaard are “out”, while Ben White’s availability is uncertain. Meanwhile, Takehiro Tomiyasu is not expected to be available before this month’s international break.
“Riccy and Martin are out, definitely. With Ben we don’t know yet. He could not train so let’s see what happens.”
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On injuries this season, the Spaniard added: “Unfortunately a lot of things happened that we didn’t plan for.
“I was suspecting with the size of the squad we had that we’d have to be very adaptable during the season and that’s something we work on from day one in pre-season. But not to be that adaptable in certain scenarios.
“For sure the team showed an incredible capacity to compete, to be better than the opponent in many moments. But it’s true that very early in the second half happened that affected the rest but we are there.”
Asked if Odegaard is close to returning, Arteta replied: “Now is the stage he’s going to start to do certain work with us. Let’s see how he deals with pain, is his movement natural enough? He’s physically at the level that requires him to compete.
“With the work rate and hours he’s put in I’d be surprised if the moment he starts training with us we don’t say, ‘He looks ready’. Hopefully soon.”
Arsenal face Newcastle in the early kick-off on Saturday and victory would see them go one point behind Liverpool and two off champions Manchester City, who both play at 3pm on Saturday.
“The league position after nine games is tricky,” Arteta said of the Magpies. “When you see the fixtures they have, and the situations they’ve been through as well.
“But they are a fantastic team, really well coached. They are super intense, great stadium to play in. Looking forward [to it].”
Ethan Nwaneri, could pick up some minutes against Eddie Howe’s side after his screamer against Preston in the Carabao Cup.
“I can talk about how good he is right now,” Arteta said of the teenager. “At 17, to be in the position he is in at one of the biggest clubs in Europe sums up where he is. He is surrounded by the right people. My prediction is going to be very positive.
“It’s rare to see a talent like this at 17 years old, that’s true. We didn’t do it because it was a gift, we saw a path for him and wanted to show the trust in him.
“I think the biggest thing is to push him. Once you push, grab him from behind. When you see this talent, you have to push him. He has to see he can fly and not cut his wings.
“That shows in the building that there is a pathway and for other players to follow.”
