oi-Prateek Bannerjee

Mikel Arteta has given an update on several Arsenal players as the team prepares for a crucial run of matches, including the upcoming Carabao Cup Final.

The Gunners will play Bayer Leverkusen in the 2nd leg of Champions League Round of 16 on Tuesday, followed by the Carabao final against Man City.

Mikel Arteta provides Arsenal Team News

Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard is working to regain fitness in time for the final against Manchester City at Wembley Stadium, though the manager said a decision will depend on how the midfielder progresses in training over the next few days.

“So we’re really pushing, he really wants to try to be available, but we’ll have to wait and see in the next few days when he trains with the team how he feels. We know the game that we’re going to be playing in a few days again, and the more players that we have the better,” Arteta said.

The Arsenal boss also confirmed that Odegaard and defender Jurrien Timber will miss the second leg at Emirates Stadium. Timber was forced off in the first half during Arsenal’s victory over Everton F.C. at the weekend, with Cristhian Mosquera coming on as his replacement.

“We don’t know, I think with him it will be a matter of days, but not sure,” Arteta added when asked about Timber’s chances of returning for Sunday.

There was more positive news regarding Leandro Trossard, who had missed the Everton clash and the Champions League round-of-16 first leg in Germany. “He’s okay, he felt good so he’s available,” Arteta confirmed.

Meanwhile, Ben White has been included in the squad for the last two matches after suffering an injury during the FA Cup fourth-round tie against Wigan Athletic.

“Yeah, he’s in a much better place, he’s been very unlucky this season in certain moments, he had very, very good moments as well throughout the season, so yeah, we need everybody available, we know what Ben gives us when he’s at his best, and he trained today, he feels good, so we need everybody’s contribution,” Arteta said.

Arsenal will now hope to have more players available as they prepare for an important stretch of fixtures in the coming days.

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