Mikel Arteta confirmed Martin Odegaard will miss Arsenal’s Champions League first leg at Bayer Leverkusen, but said Riccardo Calafiori and Leandro Trossard could still be involved.
Arsenal will travel to Bayer Leverkusen without Martin Odegaard after Mikel Arteta confirmed on Tuesday evening that the captain is out of the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 tie. It was the clearest line from Arteta’s pre-match press conference and the main setback in an otherwise more encouraging update, with Riccardo Calafiori and Leandro Trossard both given a chance of making the squad after training before the trip.
Odegaard out, but Arsenal get better news elsewhere.
While Odegaard’s absence is a blow, Arteta did leave the door open for Leandro Trossard and Riccardo Calafiori to play some part.
“Those two are a possibility that they are available, and we’ll see tomorrow how we use them,” he said.
That response was more encouraging than Arsenal might have expected after both players were forced off in the FA Cup win over Mansfield Town at the weekend. It gives Arteta at least some hope of adding depth back into the squad in both attacking and defensive areas.
There was also a straightforward positive update on the rest of the team’s spine. Asked whether Gabriel Magalhães and William Saliba were back, Arteta said: “Yes.” He gave the same answer when asked if Declan Rice and Martin Zubimendi would also return.
Those short answers may prove important. Arsenal head into the tie without Odegaard, but with several other key players back in contention, which changes the shape of the team news considerably.
Arteta sets the tone for the knockout stage.
Arteta also made it clear that Arsenal now enter a different phase of the competition.
“Yes, you start the second part of the campaign and you know what is at stake,” he said. “We start to play games where you are in or you are out, there is no margin for manoeuvre, and we’re going to face a very difficult contest tomorrow against a really good team.”
That was a theme he returned to more than once. Arteta said Arsenal must take the tie “game by game” and focus only on being “better than the opposition and earn the right to win”. He added that in this run of fixtures Arsenal have to “adapt” quickly because of the demands of switching between competitions and opponents every few days.
Experience, Havertz and the wider message
Arteta was also asked whether Arsenal are now better equipped for nights like this than they were when they returned to the Champions League.
“They certainly have more experience in the competition,” he said. “When I joined, they was a big part of the team that hadn’t played in this competition. That’s obviously something that is necessary. Now we have to perform.”There was also a notable section on Kai Havertz before his return to his former club.
Arteta said the Germany international has now had “three weeks that he’s had total consistency in terms of training, preparation and gametime” and added: “We’re going to continue to roll that because we know how Kai can impact this team.”
Arsenal are left with a mixed but manageable picture before kick-off. Odegaard is out, which is a now somewhat setback, but Arteta’s update on Trossard, Calafiori, Saliba, Gabriel, Rice and Zubimendi means Arsenal head into the first leg with more options than looked likely a few days ago.