Arsenal are set to face Manchester City at the Emirates Stadium tonight knowing if they lose then the reigning champions will overtake them at the top of the Premier League table. The Gunners hold a three point lead heading into the huge clash but City could leapfrog them into first due to their superior goal difference tally.
Mikel Arteta has revealed that there are no new injury concerns facing his squad heading into the match with Gabriel Jesus continuing to make progress in his rehabilitation. The Brazilian suffered a knee injury during the World Cup and could return to action in a few weeks time.
Erling Haaland looks set to be declared fit for City after taking part in training on Tuesday afternoon. The Norwegian striker was taken off at half-time in City's 3-1 win against Aston Villa at the weekend after picking up a suspected thigh injury.
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Arsenal club captain Martin Odegaard knows about Haaland's quality better than most given the two players play together for Norway. The Gunners playmaker has revealed that he has been in regular contact with the Premier League top scorer ahead of the match tonight but is hoping to get one over his international teammate and extend Arsenal's lead at the top of the table to six points.
Speaking to Arsenal's official website ahead of the clash, Odegaard said: "We’re all really excited for tonight’s game – these are exactly the sort of matches you want to be part of. You want to play against the best teams and to do it here at the Emirates, on a night game under the lights, will make it even more special.
"There will be an amazing atmosphere inside the stadium, it should be a brilliant contest, so we’re all looking forward to it, and I can’t wait to get out there to be honest. It feels like we’ve been building up to this one for a long time."
The north Londoners have already faced City once this season as they suffered a defeat in the FA Cup at the Etihad Stadium, but the Arsenal captain is only focusing on himself and his teammates. Odegaard continued: "We haven’t faced them in the league yet, and we know it’s an important game, but at the same time we have to approach it like we have done all season.
"It’s still only three points that are available, so let’s have the same mindset, the same focus that we always have going into a game, and concentrate on what we want to do. We have to go out there and be ourselves, do what we always do, and realise this game is as important as all of the games in this league.
"That’s the way we need to look at it. We played against them in the cup recently of course, and we showed in that game that we can cause them problems, and do well against them."
Odegaard admitted that he has watched a lot of City matches this season as Pep Guardiola's side aim to retain their crown as Premier League champions. The Norwegian midfielder added: "I’ve watched City quite a lot this season and it looks like they have maybe changed their playing style a bit this year compared to previously.
"Maybe it’s a bit different to when we played them last season, and they have different threats now that we need to be ready for. It’s a strong team all round, everyone has a lot of quality, and most of them have been there for a long time, so they are used to playing together.
"One of their new players this season is my Norway teammate Erling Haaland. We get on well off the pitch, and to be honest we have been in touch as usual this week.
"We don’t speak much about the games anyway, so nothing much has changed. We are in contact a lot, and this week has just been normal really for us – no more, no less. As I said, we just need to focus on ourselves, think about our own game, and get back to winning ways."
Odegaard has been crucial in helping Arsenal stay top of the league this season, scoring eight goals and providing a further six assists in 20 Premier League appearances. Haaland leads the way in the goal scoring charts having already notched 25 goals in just 21 games, but the Gunners will hope he has an off night as they look to move further ahead at the top of the table.
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