Arsenal are hard at work ahead of their clash with Fulham on Saturday night, with a few key stars causing discussion among fans
Arsenal fans will be sweating over the fitness of captain Martin Odegaard after official photos of the Gunners in training on Friday were released.
The north London outfit will welcome Fulham to the Emirates Stadium on Saturday night as they bid to extend their gap over Manchester City. Arsenal are currently three points ahead but can double this lead if they secure three points against the Cottagers.
City don’t play Everton until Monday evening, leaving pressure to build up if Mikel Arteta’s men do the business at the weekend. Arsenal secured a 1-1 draw against Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final, and will have it all to play for next week in the return fixture.
FOLLOW OUR ARSENAL FB PAGE! Latest Gunners news, analysis and much more via our dedicated Facebook page
The Gunners have two of football’s biggest prizes left to fight for, meaning they will need all hands on deck in the domestic run-in. However, the club have dealt with many injury issues this season and could potentially have more on their hands as May begins.
Here, football.london has all the latest on who was spotted in training and who Arteta could call upon to take part in Saturday’s Premier League fixture against Fulham.
Martin Odegaard hint
Martin Odegaard was not pictured during Friday’s training session at the Sobha Realty Training Centre, highlighting Arteta’s coy comment on the club captain. Speaking after Wednesday’s trip to Madrid, the Arsenal boss said: “I think [everyone is fine], so let’s see how everybody is tomorrow morning.
“Obviously, we haven’t been able to train much, so tomorrow we’ll have the final update.”
When pressed specifically on Odegaard, who was brought off in the second half in the Champions League, Arteta simply said: “Let’s see.”
The Norwegian was not pictured in any of the official training photos, raising fan’s concerns about his availability heading into Saturday night.
Riccardo Calafiori boost
It’s not all doom and gloom for Arsenal, however, as Riccardo Calafiori was spotted looking ready for a return against Fulham. The defender had been expecting to return against Newcastle but missed the matchday squad.
Regarding Calafiori’s absence against the Magpies, Arteta said: “Because these guys have been exceptional, I understand that. We had to leave two players out of the squad at the end, Mikel [Merino] is out and there were Christian and Richi [Calafiori], so that’s going to happen.
“As I said, if the Premier League allows us to have 20 or 22 players, we can have everybody involved and hopefully next season that will be the case.”
He made the bench against Atleti but didn’t come on, and Arteta may decide to rotate his squad slightly as he looks ahead to tough matches coming up both domestically and in Europe. The Italian had been sidelined since the beginning of April with an injury but looks to be ready for a comeback to the starting XI.
Future star spotted
Josh Ogunnaike was spotted getting a taste of first-team training alongside Cristhian Mosquera on Friday. The 18-year-old has been improving in Arsenal’s development system and it seems that his hard work paid off.
The left-back was spotted getting involved in senior training on Friday for the first time, after becoming a consistent star for the U21s side this season.
Ogunnaike has 35 total appearances so far this campaign, scoring one goal and assisting three from a left-back position.
Sky Sports, HBO Max, Netflix and Disney+ with Ultimate TV package
Sky has upgraded its Ultimate TV and Sky Sports bundle to now include HBO Max, Netflix, Disney+, discovery+ and Hayu, as well as 135 channels and full Sky coverage of the Premier League and EFL.
Sky broadcasts more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more with at least 215 live from the top flight alongside Formula 1, darts and golf.
