28 October 2023 , 10:33
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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has spoken about the need for freshness and energy when addressing his decision to substitute captain Martin Odegaard twice in a row.
Odegaard completed the full 90 minutes in five straight league matches but was subbed 12 minutes before full-time in the 2-2 draw with Chelsea. The Norway international was also withdrawn early in the Champions League win at Sevilla, prompting questions for Arteta ahead of Saturday's meeting with Sheffield United.
Arsenal have seen a number of players sidelined by injury this season, with Bukayo Saka missing the victory over Manchester City before returning last weekend. In assessing the Odegaard situation, Arteta recognised the heavy game load his side face this season with the Gunners competing for top honours domestically and on the continent.
"To get to the level that they perform and our front players last season, that’s very difficult to see," Arteta said when asked if his captain needed resting. "It hasn’t happened in the Premier League, so we need to be conscious of that, but that’s about form, about putting him in better positions and doing things better in certain areas to help him to have the game that helps him to explore his qualities.
"They have played a lot of minutes and that’s a consequence of that," he said. However, when asked whether recent injury issues have been caused by the volume of games on the whole, the Spaniard said: "No, I think there are periods and some days you get really unlucky, and things that are difficult to prevent."
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Arteta was also asked about substituting Odegaard, saying: "It can be in relation to the performance, the tactics or how the game is shifting. But I think somebody else is going to be more suited to get freshness in the team, because we have played a lot of games, and we want to give them that energy as well in the last few minutes, and that’s it.
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Martin Odegaard was substituted in each of Arsenal's last two games (Jose Breton/NurPhoto/REX/Shutterstock)Arsenal are already without a number of first-team players. Jurrien Timber is still some way off a return after knee surgery, while Gabriel Jesus and Thomas Partey are now both out of action for an extended period.
"With [Gabriel Jesus] I cannot give you any time frame because he always surprises us, but there is something there," Arteta told reporters. "He felt in a really awkward action and it’s true that he had quite a lot of load in the last few weeks with the national team and then playing those games, which he hasn’t done in a long, long time. That’s really bad news for us."
"He’s got a muscle injury and we are expecting him to be out for a few weeks," the manager said of Partey. "We don’t really know the extent of it and he has more tests today but he picked up that injury in a training session with the last kick of the ball before Sevilla, so very unfortunate."