Mikel Arteta has revealed the latest fitness updates on Martin Odegaard, Gabriel Jesus and Thomas Partey ahead of the Arsenal's Carabao Cup clash with West Ham United on Wednesday.
The trio missed the weekend's victory over Sheffield United, with Odegaard rested on the bench due to overload concerns and both Jesus and Partey missing out altogether because of various injury problems.
Jesus picked up a muscle problem in the Europa League meeting with Sevilla that kept him out of the last game, while Partey had to be left out altogether after picking up his second injury of the season.
Arteta's first update concerned captain Odegaard, with the boss revealing: "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.
"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."
As for Jesus, Arteta declined to put a time frame on the Brazilian's recovery, admitting he has already been caught out by the Brazilian's ability to return ahead of schedule in the past.
"With [Jesus], I’m honestly not going to give [a timeframe]," Arteta admitted. "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."
Arteta's update on Partey was less positive, however. The Ghana international missed six games with a groin injury, before a 15-minute cameo was followed by a fresh muscular problem that has kept him on the sidelines.
"I think he will be out for weeks," the Arsenal boss said. "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.
"It can happen in football and I’m so sorry for him because I think he is doing every single thing he can do right to be there. He was gutted and we are for him, but he needs to lift himself up again with our support and go again because he’s a player that is critical for us."
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This article was originally published on 90min as Mikel Arteta provides injury updates on three key Arsenal stars ahead of West Ham clash.