Arsenal suffered a 2-1 home defeat to Bournemouth last week, following a 2-0 loss to Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final and a 2-1 FA Cup quarter-final exit to Southampton. Despite these setbacks, the Gunners maintain a nine-point advantage over Manchester City in the Premier League title race. The club now faces a pivotal Champions League quarter-final first leg against Sporting CP on Tuesday night, with the season's outcome hanging in the balance.
Injury doubts loom over key players for the upcoming Premier League match against Everton. Martin Ødegaard is doubtful due to a knee problem, while Leandro Trossard is also a concern. Trossard was pulled out of the Belgium squad during the international break for rehabilitation. Arsenal have multiple players with injury issues, including Declan Rice, Martin Zubimendi, Gabriel, Bukayo Saka, and Jurrien Timber.
It depends on what’s going on inside the knee. We on the outside don’t get to know everything. They always keep something secret. It could be things that aren’t good. Then he’s come back. It feels OK. And yet, it’s not quite right after all.
Gabriel Martinelli pushed referee Sam Barrott during the loss to Southampton and received a yellow card. The forward is set to escape further punishment for the incident.
Former Norwegian footballer Steffen Iversen claims Arsenal could be keeping the true nature of Martin Ødegaard's recurring knee problem a secret. Former Arsenal defender Nigel Winterburn believes Leandro Trossard has not returned to his highest level after injury.
I would be careful what you wish for if I was an Arsenal fan if you think getting rid of Arteta is the best thing you guys could do. You have to remember where you guys were when he came. You guys are consistently qualifying for the Champions League, you weren’t before Arteta came. You’re finishing second most of the time, fighting for the Premier League year in, year out.
World Cup winner Marco Materazzi advises Mikel Arteta to start Riccardo Calafiori at centre-back ahead of William Saliba. Former Arsenal captain William Gallas advises Mikel Arteta to replace Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard this summer. Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard urges Mikel Arteta to replace two Arsenal players, implied to be left-sided forwards, this summer.
Rio Ferdinand warns Arsenal supporters calling for Mikel Arteta's sacking to 'be careful what you wish for'. Arsenal showed interest in signing Barcelona's Dani Olmo, but he rejected them.
We knew this could be a possibility, especially in the conditions we were playing in today. We had to take them off.
Manager Mikel Arteta addressed injury concerns in recent statements, noting that players had issues and the demanding schedule required managing them. He stated the team would assess player availability with doctors. Which specific players Arsenal will target in the summer transfer window, particularly for the left wing position, remains undetermined. Whether Arsenal can maintain their Premier League lead and avoid a late-season collapse given recent defeats and injury concerns is the central question facing the club.
They had issues and they've been carrying issues. The amount of games we've been playing it's obviously super demanding. This was the only time to try to make sure we can clean those issues they've been having to start the next sequence of two weeks before the break to make sure they are in the best possible way.
We'll see. We'll wait and see and talk to the doctors about whether they are involved or not.