Mikel Arteta is hoping key defenders Gabriel and Ben White will both be available for tomorrow’s trip to Newcastle.
Gabriel limped out of last Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Liverpool at the Emirates while White, who moved across to central defence against the Merseysiders, missed the midweek EFL Cup trip to Preston through injury.
On Gabriel, Arteta said: “We have a training session today. If he can complete that he will be available. He hasn’t had any training session yet but if he’s able to do that today he will be available in the squad.”
With William Saliba also available after missing the Liverpool game through suspension, Arteta will hope to have a more recognisable back four in place at St James’ Park.
That will depend on White also pulling through.
“With Ben, we don’t know yet. He’s hasn’t trained yet. He couldn’t train or get involved. Let’s wait and see,” added Arteta, who will definitely be without Riccardo Calafiori and captain Martin Odegaard.
“If he can complete today’s training he’ll be available in the squad” ✅
Mikel Arteta provides injury updates on Gabriel, Riccardo Calafiori, Ben White and Martin Odegaard ahead of their visit to St. James’ Park 🤔 pic.twitter.com/oC8WDrbtaf
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) November 1, 2024
Adaptable Arsenal
Arsenal finished the Liverpool game with midfielder Thomas Partey at right-back and youngster Myles Lewis-Skelly on the opposite flank.
Arteta said: “Unfortunately a lot of things happened that we didn’t plan for. I was suspecting with the size of the squad we had that we’d have to be very adaptable during the season and that’s something we work on from day one in pre-season. But not to be that adaptable in certain scenarios.”
The corresponding fixture last season saw Arsenal lose 1-0 after Anthony Gordon’s goal was allowed to stand despite VAR checking for three potential violations in the build-up.
Arteta was apoplectic after the game, lashing out at VAR and the standard of refereeing in England.
He wasn’t willing to discuss those subjects again this morning but did say: “That’s part of the past and the situation that happened you learn from it, you take a lot of positives as well. We’ve moved on.
“I had to say what I felt on the day.”
Nwaneri is a ‘rare talent’
Arsenal cruised to a 3-0 win at Deepdale on Wednesday night with teenager Ethan Nwaneri catching the eye with a strong performance and a wonderful goal.
Nwaneri will be in the squad again tomorrow with Arteta hoping he will maintain his progress.
“I can talk about how good he is right now: at 17 years old, to be in the position he is in at one of the biggest clubs in Europe, I think sums up the level he has,” he said.
“What is going to happen in the future is mainly going to depend on him and how much he wants it. At the moment he wants it a lot and he’s surrounded by the right people.
“The crystal ball to see what he will be in one, two, three years, my prediction is very positive.
“It’s rare to see a talent like this at 17 years old. When he made his debut in the Premier League, there was a lot of talk about it, but we didn’t do it as a gift, we knew the pathway we wanted to build with him and wanted to send him a really strong sign how much we trust him and how much we wanted him to stay with us.”
‘Newcastle are super intense’
Newcastle sit 12th in the table having not won any of their last five league games but Arteta is still expecting a difficult game in the lunchtime kick-off.
He said: “The league position after nine games is tricky. When you see the fixtures they have as well, and the situations they’ve been through. But they are a fantastic team, really well coached. They are super intense, [and it’s a] great stadium to play in.”
