Mikel Arteta

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MIKEL Arteta has praised Arsenal’s “phenomenal” away fans as the club prepares for an extended spell on the road, urging them to “keep doing what you’re doing”.

Gabriel Jesus, Ethan Nwaneri and Kai Havertz were all on target as the Gunners booked a place in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup last night (Wednesday) with a 3-0 victory against Preston at Deepdale.

The north Londoners will continue to rack up the miles on Saturday when they return to Premier League action against Newcastle at St James’ Park.

Arsenal will, in fact, only play at their Emirates home ground once in the next five weeks, when they host Nottingham Forest on November 23. Their schedule otherwise consists of juggling trips to Inter Milan and Sporting in Europe, with league games at Chelsea and West Ham.
Travelling Gooners are therefore going to need to be in good voice, and Arteta is aiming to give them plenty to sing about.

“Keep doing what you’re doing,” said the Arsenal boss. “You’ve been absolutely phenomenal. We really thank you for the time, the effort, and everything that you invest in [the team]. We’re really grateful, and hopefully we’re going to perform really well and give you a lot of joy.”

The good news is that Arsenal’s injury woes are easing, with Arteta revealing just enough to give supporters hope that a few big names might return for the Newcastle game.

Both Gabriel Magalhaes and Jurrien Timber limped out of the 2-2 draw with Liverpool on Sunday, while captain Martin Odegaard hasn’t featured for the club since the end of August.
Timber turned out to be fine, playing 45 minutes against Preston as he continues to build up his match fitness.

Offering a positive update on Gabriel, Arteta said: “We are still assessing him, it doesn’t look bad at all. He was much better than expected, so hopefully he’ll be fine.”

On Odegaard, Arteta added: “He has been on the grass for a few weeks, but there are still a few boxes to tick.

“How fast we can do that last stage of the rehab is a question we have to answer when we have players around and he starts competing with the team.”

Odegaard also hinted that he’ll be back in Arsenal colours before the international break. He said: “I’m feeling better and better each day, but when it’s an ankle injury you have ups and downs as well. Some days you feel really good, and then sometimes you can have a little reaction. But in general it’s getting better and I feel like I’m getting closer now.”

With William Saliba back from suspension, Arsenal could field their first-choice back-four against the Magpies, but cover is light with Riccardo Calafiori and Takehiro Tomiyasu both still sidelined with knee issues.