Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has provided the latest injury updates ahead of his side’s UEFA Champions League Round of 16 first-leg clash against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday.
The Gunners travel to the BayArena looking to secure a positive result that would give them a strong advantage heading into the return leg at the Emirates Stadium next week.
However, they will be without their captain and influential midfielder Martin Odegaard, who has been ruled out with injury.
The Norwegian has endured an injury-hit campaign and is now set to miss Wednesday’s clash with a knee injury that has also kept him out of Arsenal’s last three games across all competitions.
Speaking at Tuesday’s press conference, Arteta confirmed that the 27-year-old will not be available for the encounter, in quotes revealed by the official Arsenal website.
“He’s out”, the Spaniard said.
There was more positive news as Leandro Trossard, Riccardo Calafiori and William Saliba have all returned to training and are expected to feature in Wednesday’s clash.
Trossard was forced off in the first half of Arsenal’s win over Mansfield Town in the FA Cup fifth-round last weekend with a hip problem, but has recovered and is in contention to feature against the German side.
Calafiori also picked up a knock in that clash and was substituted in the second half, although he participated in Tuesday’s training session in a major boost for the Gunners.
“Those two are a possibility that they are available, and we’ll see tomorrow.”
Meanwhile, Saliba has also recovered from an ankle injury he suffered during the 2-1 win over Chelsea earlier in the month, which had sidelined him for Arsenal’s last two matches.
Arsenal head into the game hoping to maintain their perfect run in this season’s Champions League. The Gunners won all eight of their matches during the league phase, and another victory in Germany would move them a step closer to the quarterfinals of the competition.
