{"id":362,"date":"2025-09-19T15:42:14","date_gmt":"2025-09-19T15:42:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/?p=362"},"modified":"2025-09-19T15:42:15","modified_gmt":"2025-09-19T15:42:15","slug":"arsenal-await-fitness-verdict-on-odegaard-and-saka-ahead-of-manchester-city-clash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/?p=362","title":{"rendered":"Arsenal Await Fitness Verdict on Odegaard and Saka Ahead of Manchester City Clash"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"960\" height=\"734\" src=\"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/image-5.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-363\" srcset=\"https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/image-5.png 960w, https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/image-5-300x229.png 300w, https:\/\/givemesoccer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/image-5-768x587.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Arsenal face a tense wait over the fitness of captain <strong>Martin Odegaard<\/strong> and star winger <strong>Bukayo Saka<\/strong> ahead of their Premier League showdown with <strong>Manchester City<\/strong> this weekend, manager <strong>Mikel Arteta<\/strong> confirmed on Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Saka, sidelined since suffering a hamstring injury last month, and Odegaard, who has been managing a shoulder problem, will undergo final fitness assessments in the coming days before a squad decision is made. Arsenal, currently second in the table behind Liverpool, cannot afford any slip-ups against eighth-placed City in what promises to be a marquee clash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Arteta Provides Update<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIf there is a chance they play on Sunday, it will be after tomorrow&#8217;s session,\u201d Arteta said. \u201cThey haven\u2019t done anything yet, so we\u2019ll have more information then. Everything has been modified for them so far. There are still a few things to clear before we know if they can be part of the squad.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Centre-back <strong>William Saliba<\/strong>, who left the pitch early in Arsenal\u2019s 1-0 loss at Liverpool, returned to the bench during their midweek <strong>Champions League<\/strong> win at Athletic Bilbao and will also face a late fitness check. Meanwhile, Arteta confirmed that Viktor Gyokeres and Mikel Merino are fully fit following minor head injuries sustained in the European clash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Arsenal\u2019s Strength in Depth<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>After previous seasons of squad limitations, Arsenal have strengthened their roster significantly during the summer transfer window. Arteta highlighted the impact of substitutes in the 2-0 win at Bilbao, with <strong>Gabriel Martinelli<\/strong> and <strong>Leandro Trossard<\/strong> scoring after coming off the bench.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cYou need that quality to unlock games and maintain consistency every three days,\u201d Arteta noted. \u201cWe are fortunate to have players who can make a decisive impact.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">City Challenge Looms Large<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Arsenal have historically struggled against Pep Guardiola\u2019s City side, losing eight consecutive matches across all competitions, but have gone unbeaten in their last four league encounters, including a 5-1 victory in February. Arteta remains confident heading into the fixture:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe preparation for the game will be to win, that\u2019s for sure. Competing against one of the best teams in the world is a good test for us to see our level.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Arteta also praised Guardiola\u2019s enduring excellence:<br>\u201cWhat he\u2019s achieved in this league is unprecedented. Maintaining those levels for 10 years is incredible. The demands are there, and he wants to continue because he believes he can do it again.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Arsenal face a tense wait over the fitness of captain Martin Odegaard and star winger Bukayo Saka ahead<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[48,384,5],"tags":[383,380,382,379,381],"class_list":["post-362","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-football-news","category-manchester-city","category-premier-league","tag-arsenal-fitness-news","tag-bukayo-saka","tag-manchester-city-clash","tag-martin-odegaard","tag-premier-league-2"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.0 - 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