Martin Odegaard and Jurrien Timber were both absent from Arsenal’s open training session on Monday, leaving fresh uncertainty over Mikel Arteta’s options before the Champions League second leg against Bayer Leverkusen.
Arsenal will be without both Martin Odegaard and Jurrien Timber for Tuesday night’s Champions League meeting with Bayer Leverkusen, after Mikel Arteta confirmed the pair are unavailable ahead of the second leg at the Emirates. The Arsenal manager did offer one more positive update on Leandro Trossard, though, with the Belgium forward back in contention after returning to training on Monday
Arteta confirms two major absences
The clearest line came from Arteta himself in his pre-match press conference. “Both of them are out,” he said when asked about Odegaard and Timber before the decisive meeting with Leverkusen. That ends any lingering uncertainty around the two players after both had missed Arsenal’s open training session on Monday.
Odegaard’s absence had been feared after he missed the first leg in Germany and sat out recent matches with a knee problem. With the captain stressing in his pre-match notes for Everton's fixture that he was desperate to get back playing.
Timber, by contrast, is a fresher concern after he was forced off during the first half of Saturday’s 2-0 Premier League win over Everton. Arsenal have not made public the exact nature of Timber’s issue, but his absence leaves Arteta with another defensive problem at a crucial point in the season. With his availability for the Carabao Cup also being left in doubt "We don’t know [if he will be available for the Carabao Cup final], I think with him it will be a matter of days, but not sure.”
Trossard return gives Arsenal one lift
There was, however, one more encouraging update for Arsenal. Arteta said: “Trossard is okay, he felt good so he’s available.” That gives Arsenal at least one attacking option back after Trossard missed the Everton game and had been part of the injury discussion going into this week.
That matters given the demands of the tie. Arsenal needed a late Kai Havertz penalty to rescue a 1-1 draw in the first leg at the BayArena after Robert Andrich had given Leverkusen the lead, and the return in north London now comes down to one night with a quarter-final place on the line.
Why the injury news matters before Leverkusen
Odegaard’s absence removes Arsenal’s captain and one of the players most central to their control in possession. Timber’s unavailability is a different kind of blow, with the defender having become an important part of Arsenal’s balance across the back line this season. Between them, they represent two of the players Arteta would have wanted available for a tie that remains finely poised after last week’s first leg.
Arsenal still have home advantage, and they will also take confidence from the fact that the tie remains level heading into the second leg. That said, Arsenal need a big performance, with no injuries, as a huge Carabao Cup Final against Manchester City looms.