Arsenal will face West Ham United in the Carabao Cup in midweek and Gabriel Jesus and Thomas Partey are ruled out for this fourth-round tie.
Thomas Partey is recovering from a groin issue while Jesus picked up a hamstring injury during Arsenal’s win over Sevilla and both of them will be out of action for some time. Partey has played just 15 minutes of football in their last 11 matches and initially, he was supposed to return this week. However, the midfielder has suffered a fresh setback and will now be out for a few more weeks.
“I think he will be out for weeks,” Mikel said in the pre-match press conference. “I don’t know how long but he’s got another appointment today and we will see more after that.
“It is a big concern because when Thomas is fit and available and he’s been part of the team, we’ve seen the results and the impact that he had. This season we have more protection especially for that reason because we know in the last two seasons what has happened and the result it had on the team. We had to address that and now it has happened.”
Gabriel Jesus is also floating on the same boat because his hamstring injury is more serious than initially thought and even though the Arsenal manager has failed to give a possible return date, reports in the media are suggesting that he will be on the sidelines for around two months.
The Arsenal boss said: “With him, I’m honestly not going to give [a timeframe]. I did it once and got it totally wrong. We need to be cautious because we need to treat it in the right way. He’s already pushing everybody and wants to be back as quickly as possible, and we need him, so that’s great.”
Both these players have become massively injury-prone since arriving at Arsenal so it’s hardly a surprise that Mikel Arteta wants to get rid of them within the next year. As far as the West Ham United game is concerned, Arteta won’t be too worried because Eddie Nketiah will continue up top while Jorginho and Declan Rice will cover the middle of the pitch.
Martin Odegaard was rested in the Sheffield United game because of a slight niggle but the midfielder is expected to return to the starting XI for the Carabao Cup tie.
Mikel Arteta told the press: “We rested him the other day, so it’s how long we rest him for and how we manage the minutes and the rhythm that he needs to be at his best. We had the opportunity to [rest him] and we didn’t use him in the end.”
Odegaard’s return was obvious but with him returning, Kai Havertz will have to move back to the bench. Havertz was brought in to lead the line but the former Chelsea man has failed to convince Mikel Arteta of his centre-forward abilities.
West Ham United go into this game at the back of a four-game winless streak and it’s very hard to see them match up to Arsenal. It will be a special moment as Declan Rice returns to his childhood club but other than this one should be a regulation win for the Gunners.
