2 weeks Ago By Daniel Feliciano
Charles Watts has revealed Arsenal are without five first-team players for training on Wednesday morning ahead of their Champions League clash with Atalanta this week. The Gunners have an injury crisis in midfield at the moment, with several stars missing from the first-team squad for the weekend North London Derby victory over Tottenham , where Gabriel Magalhaes headed home the winner in the second half. Declan Rice missed the game through suspension and is back in training and available for the trip to Bergamo, but there are still five players unavailable for training which suggests they won't play against the current Europa League holders.
Five Players Miss Arsenal Training Ahead of Atalanta Clash Reporting live from London Colney, journalist Charles Watts revealed that while the Gunners were boosted by the return to training of Italy defender Riccardo Calafiori , they are still without five first-team regulars that Arteta would usually call upon. Martin Odegaard remains unavailable with an ankle injury after suffering a nasty-looking problem on international duty, while Mikel Merino continues to recover from a fractured shoulder suffered during his first training session after a move from Real Sociedad. Defenders Oleksandr Zinchenko, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Kieran Tierney are also all still injured and not training, essentially ruling them out of the clash with the Serie A side on Thursday night.
Arteta has some decisions to make with his team with players returning and a huge Premier League clash with Manchester City set for this Sunday, less than 72 hours after the game with Atalanta. Rice is likely to come back into the side following his suspension, while Jorginho and Thomas Partey will be battling to keep their places in midfield too. Jurrien Timber shone at left-back against Spurs, so Calafiori may have to settle for a place on the bench once again despite being fit enough to return to training.
Mikel Arteta's season-by-season Premier League record as Arsenal boss Season Matches Won Drawn Lost Points 2024/25 4 3 1 0 10 2023/24 38 28 5 5 89 2022/23 38 26 6 6 84 2021/22 38 22 3 13 69 2020/21 38 18 7 13 61 2019/20 20 9 6 5 33 Statistics correct as of 18/09/2024 Latest Odds for result, under/over and goalscorers for Arsenal's Champions League encounter with Serie A side Atalanta. Arsenal Won't Sign £134m Attacking Duo The summer transfer window was filled with rumours of Arsenal looking to bolster their attacking options, and they finally pulled the trigger when they signed Raheem Sterling on loan from Chelsea on deadline day. However, Mikel Arteta is known to be a huge fan of Athletic Bilbao winger Nico Williams and now-Galatasaray loanee Victor Osimhen and deals for those players could be explored in the summer of 2025 if he feels that he still needs reinforcements.
But according to GIVEMESPORT sources the Emirates Stadium hierarchy are highly unlikely to fork out the reported £134million it would take to bring both players in, as well as the wages they are believed to be demanding to leave their current clubs. Williams is believed to be one of the highest-earners at Athletic Club due to their Basque-only criteria and would demand a pay-rise to move on, while Osimhen's wages were a major problem all summer while he tried to secure a move away from Napoli. All statistics courtesy of Premier League - correct as of 18/9/2024.
Odegaard could be facing a lengthy period on the sidelines..
