Mikel Arteta assessed the state of the Arsenal squad for the FA Cup clash with Southampton.
The Gunners kick off the final phase of their campaign with the hope of taking another step towards ending their trophy drought. But they are likely to be without several squad members for this trip.
“We are in a position now that we are going to make the strongest line-ups and decisions that we possibly can to win every competition. We are two or three games away in the FA Cup and we know how important that competition is for us.
“[The injury] looked really bad, and Noni Madueke was really worried especially after what happened to him in his other knee a few weeks ago and he was out for six weeks. But no, he’s nowhere near that injury, so that was really good news.
“[With Eberechi Eze], I cannot put a finger on it. I don’t know, because he’s a special character.
“[Martin Odegaard and Jurrien Timber] are in contention to possibly be in the squad.
“Yeah, we have very good relationships and communications with most of the national teams, certainly with Thomas Tuchel, we’ve been extremely supportive all the time, and when you have to communicate the state and the moment of every player, we are always very honest, and in the end it’s a medical decision that has to be made and that was clear what the conclusion was.
“I think when a player is fit and available to play, they have to play. I think it makes us so proud that we have that many players in the national team, and the players are desperate to play in the national team. We know how important every time that they are together and the time that they spend in preparation means to them, so we are fully supportive of that and when we can do it, we do it.
‘They all come back really happy’
The manager also talked about the impact of the international break. While World Cup qualifiers went wrong for Denmark and Italy, Sweden progressed and put their star striker in the headlines.
Meanwhile, mixed emotions about a return to the England camp among the fans did not stop an Arsenal defender from making an immediate impact with a goal in a friendly against Uruguay.
“I could just see a big smile on his face and the way [Ben White] came back from the national team. And the good thing that he was telling about everybody, about the group, about the meetings that they had, about Thomas and everybody. So that’s great to hear because when you send a player to the national team, you really want to bring back a better player, a player that is happy, a player that is available and fit and that was certainly Ben’s case.
“[For Riccardo Calafiori], I think for Italy, for football, a country like them with such a passion, such a history not to be in a World Cup, it’s tough. I know that it’s good for football but that shows you as well, the difficulty of going through all those phases to earn the right to be in the competition.
“I imagine how much it means for [Viktor Gyokeres] to get his country over the line and the position they were in to be able not to play the World Cup. He was full of energy and confidence. That’s great.
“The first day when they are coming back, they are still carrying that energy. They all come back really happy to this place and that’s something really positive to witness and that’s the important thing. Now we have to focus on the club and after we play the last game they can have plenty of time to prepare for the World Cup.”