Ahead of tomorrow’s EFL Cup Round of 16 clash at West Ham United, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta provided updates on the injury status of midfielder Thomas Partey, fellow midfielder Martin Odegaard and striker Gabriel Jesus. Partey is out until most likely sometime in December, as Arteta said the Ghanian is sidelined for “weeks.”
Odegaard could be in contention for tomorrow night, but is more likely not to be risked, and instead saved for next weekend versus Sheffield United. There is no definitive timetable on Jesus right now.
EFL Cup 4th Round FYIs
Arsenal FC at West Ham United
Kickoff: Wed. Nov. 1, 8:30 pm, London Stadium
Starting XI Predictions: Arsenal West Ham
Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK
How They Got Here: Arsenal (beat Brentford 1-0 in 3rd round), West Ham (beat Lincoln City 1-0 in third round)
Looks like we’ll have to revise our starting XI prediction now, as this is an updated Team News.
Thomas Partey
The Ghanian international has been extremely injury prone this season, playing just 15 minutes in the last 11 matches. He’s battled a groin injury and a second, unspecified muscular problem.
“He is a big concern because when Thomas is fit and available and he’s been part of the team, we have seen what the results and the impact that he has on the team,” Arteta said.
“This season we have more protection, especially for that reason as well because we know in the past two seasons what has happened and the impact that it had on the team so we had to address that. Now it’s happened and it happens in football. I’m so sorry for him because I think he’s doing every single thing that he can do right to be there, he was gutted. We are all for him, he needs to lift himself up again with our support and go again because he is a player that is critical for us.
“I think that he will be out for weeks, I don’t know how long but he’s got another appointment today and we will see more after that.”
Martin Odegaard
Arteta revealed that Odegaard has an unspecified knock, and he’s been playing through the pain.
“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,” the Gunners boss said.
“We had the opportunity to [rest him] and we didn’t use him in the end. It’s impossible to play with no niggles in football, and at this level, when you have games every three days, it’s impossible. If you try to do that, you better stay in bed, because I don’t know any players who are constantly perfect and in the best possible condition, so you have to adapt to that.
“Every player is the same, they are willing to push the boundaries. We have players who have been out for six weeks and they were back in either three-and-a-half or four weeks for big matches and made an incredible impact. When you talk about changes in mentality, this is a big thing. Not only him, but all the physios and doctors, and your teammates pushing you to demand you to be there, because you are needed. That’s what we need.”
Gabriel Jesus
Finally, we cover the Brazilian striker, who missed out last weekend, due to the muscular injury that he suffered against Sevilla
“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.”
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
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