Mikel Arteta provided another update on the fitness of our first team squad ahead of our Premier League meeting with Everton.
The boss first confirmed that there were no fresh injury concerns after our 1-1 draw with Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday.
Martin Odegaard and Leandro Trossard both missed our trip to Germany, but could be in line to return before the international break.
“We’ll see,” Mikel said at the Sobha Realty Training Centre, “we will have to wait and see and speak to the doctors on whether they are involved or not.”
With the majority of our first-team squad available for selection over the coming days, the boss was asked whether he had a line-up in mind for the Carabao Cup Final.
“No, because we come from five games in very short periods of time again.
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“You just have to go game by game, understanding who can play a certain amount of minutes, who doesn’t.
“Maybe for the next game you have an idea of what you can do, but two or three games away is quite difficult at the moment.”
After a crucial week which sees us play in the Premier League, Champions League and Carabao Cup Final, several of our players will head out on international duty.
Asked how we’ll manage our players’ minutes while they’re away, Mikel emphasised the positive relationships he has with the national team managers.
“We have really good communication with most of them and we have a thorough decision just like they do on how we’re doing.
They have communication with the players themselves as well and what they expect, and that was a way to see how everybody is, have those conversations and make the right decisions.”
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