Arsenal are set to host the first fixture after the September international break with a crunch tie against Tottenham in the North London Derby. The Gunners, however, have had disrupted preparation for the match due to continuous injury concerns.
Thomas Partey and Martin Odegaard have been suffering from injuries in recent weeks, which forced both players to miss games for Arsenal leading up to the international break. Despite this, they were still called up to play for their nations over the past two weeks.
This all but confirmed Odegaard’s return to full fitness as he played in both of Norway’s fixtures. The same cannot be said for Partey, however, meaning Arteta will have a tough selection choice ahead of the match against Spurs on Saturday.
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football.london understands that club captain Odegaard is expected to be fully fit for the clash with Tottenham at the weekend. The Norway international had picked up a knock in training, missing the victory over Brentford just before the break for international duty.
Fabio Vieira marked his full Arsenal debut In the Premier League with a stunning strike against Brentford, which put his side 3-0 up in the second half of the match at the G-Tech Community Stadium. The midfielder had a disrupted start to life in North London following a knock suffered on Portugal duty at the start of the summer, but announced his presence in resounding fashion in West London. His place in the starting lineup came as a result of an injury to Odegaard and the 22-year-old took his chance in convincing fashion.
However, Odegaard’s return from injury would likely see Vieira go back to the substitutes' bench, due to the fact that the Norwegian has been one of Arteta’s most important players in the past year, and having the club captain on the pitch for arguably the biggest derby of the season seems a more likely option.
With Vieira still adapting to English football, Odegaard is certainly further ahead in his development. And with the club captain fit for the crucial match against Tottenham, it would seem likely that Odegaard comes back into the starting line-up at the expense of Vieira.
Midfielder Partey picked up a thigh injury earlier this season, missing a number of games, but made his return to the first team in the 3-0 win against Brentford just before the international break. The Ghana international was due to start in his nation's friendly with Brazil, but had to pull out of the line-up.
Partey has had to return to the club early from the international break due to a knee problem. "We didn’t want to take that risk in a friendly game to play him against Brazil," Ghana boss Otto Addo said. "But surely playing a player like him against a squad like Brazil would have been helpful."
With his injury being described as a precaution by the Ghanaian manager, it is likely that Partey will be ready to play against Tottenham on Saturday. The 29-year-old would presumably start alongside Granit Xhaka, and Odegaard in Arteta’s trusted midfield three.
Takehiro Tomiyasu was Arsenal's only defensive injury concern as he was sent back home by Japan, but Ben White has currently been starting ahead of him at right-back, and the Englishman should be fit seeing as though he was not called up to international duty. Meanwhile, Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba finished the international break without an injury, meaning the three players' spots in defence are likely to stay the same.
Mikel Arteta’s left-back decision is still up in the air as football.london understands that Oleksandr Zinchenko is set to return for the North London Derby at the weekend. The Ukraine international was another doubt, having not been called up for his nation due to a calf issue in an official statement, but he appears to have shaken off any concerns to be available for the game.
Other than Bukayo Saka, Arsenal’s forward line were not called up for international duty, meaning Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus should be fit to play in the derby, alongside Saka who did not pick up an injury while away with England.
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