Mikel Arteta has confirmed that Arsenal will be without four players for the North London Derby clash with Tottenham on Sunday, with two more doubtful.
The Gunners will be looking to get back to winning ways at the start of a busy week of fixtures following their draw with Brighton last time out in the Premier League, as they travel to the home of their fierce rivals.
But should they be successful they will have to do it without a host of first-team regulars after the boss confirmed they will be without several stars for the game due to injury and suspension.
Arteta was already facing a selection crisis with Declan Rice suspended after his red card against Brighton and Mikel Merino suffering with a broken arm in his first training session, and the international break has not been particularly kind to them.
Captain Martin Odegaard has suffered an ankle injury and will likely miss the game, and will be joined on the sidelines by defender Takehiro Tomiyasu. But Arteta says they must still make a decision on Riccardo Calafiori’s fitness, while striker Gabriel Jesus is fit to return.
The Italian suffered an injury on international duty last week and has failed to recover, while Tomiyasu and Kieran Tierney are still recovering from injury issues they suffered before the break that saw them miss the draw at the Emirates Stadium last time out.
Speaking at his pre-game press conference, Arteta shared the following update:
“He’s [Gabriel Jesus] got another session tomorrow, and if everything goes well, he’ll be with us. [Calafiori] He’s another one where we’ll have to wait another day.
“It’s a slow process and it takes a while to heal. We’re using this time to make sure he [Merino] understands and is back to help the team straight away.”
| Gabriel Jesus’ Premier League statistics – Arsenal squad ranking, 2023/24 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Stats | Output | Squad rank |
| Appearances | 27 | =11th |
| Goals | 4 | =8th |
| Assists | 5 | 5th |
| Shots Per Game | 2 | 3rd |
| Dribbles Per Game | 1.3 | 2nd |
| Match rating | 6.89 | =2nd |
Arsenal to Open Talks With Gabriel Over New Deal
Brazilian is a key member of Arteta’s defence
Away from the weekend’s big North London Derby clash, the Gunners are making moves off the pitch to tie key players down to the club for the long-term.
Manager Arteta penned a new contract until 2027 this week, making him the second-highest-earning coach in the Premier League, and Arsenal are now looking to hand key defender Gabriel Magalhaes a new deal too.
According to GIVEMESPORT sources, the centre-back is someone that Arsenal chiefs are adamant they don’t want to lose despite the recent signing of Riccardo Calafiori and they want to hand him a new deal to show their commitment to him after he formed a formidable partnership with William Saliba.
Gabriel is happy at Arsenal and his current deal runs until 2027 so there is no rush to get an agreement in place, but there is hope at the club they will find a deal to keep him before the end of the season.
