Mikel Arteta has confirmed that Declan Rice’s fitness is improving ahead of Arsenal’s visit to Brighton, with Martin Odegaard also a possibility to return.
Three days after beating Chelsea at the Emirates, Arsenal return to action in another must-win Premier League clash.
There was a lot of negative discourse after the Chelsea win due to set-pieces, but what really unnerved Arsenal fans from the derby win was Rice’s early withdrawal.
Rice was taken off injured at the Emirates, a sight that nobody wanted to see amid Arsenal’s charge for the Premier League title.
Fortunately, it was later understood that Rice was merely suffering from symptoms of fatigue, which seems to have been right, given what Arteta said in his pre-match press conference ahead of the Gunners’ visit to the Amex.
“He was much better today. Hopefully he’s going to be better tomorrow.”
Some mixed memories at the Amex: Predict the score against Arsenal and Brighton on matchday 29!
Mikel Arteta’s pre-Brighton injury update included Martin Odegaard
Rice wasn’t the only injury concern against Chelsea, as when the team news was announced before kick-off, it was noticed that Martin Odegaard did not make the matchday squad.
Is this Arsenal’s best starting XI if Declan Rice is not fit to face Brighton?
Odegaard returned the week prior against Tottenham and contributed with an assist, but he then missed out against Chelsea due to not feeling ‘totally comfortable’ with a knee injury.
Ahead of the Brighton clash, Arteta shared a further update on the skipper, noting that the Gunners will ‘wait and see’ whether the midfielder can play a part.
“We will see. We have to wait and see how comfortable he is to do certain actions.”
He also noted that the same applies for Kai Havertz, giving the boss several key decisions to make in midfield.
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