Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has provided a brief update on the fitness of Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard following Sunday’s 1-0 North London derby victory over Tottenham.
The Gunners secured a win thanks to Gabriel Magalhães’ header on the hour mark.
This victory means Arsenal have now won their last three visits to their fierce rivals for the first time since 1988.
Despite being without two key players, Arteta’s side thoroughly deserved the three points.
Declan Rice was unavailable due to his suspension from the match against Brighton before the international break, while Odegaard missed the game due to injury.
Odegaard sustained the injury during international duty with Norway earlier in the week.
His absence meant there was no place in the matchday squad for the Arsenal captain, leading Arteta to include five teenagers on the bench.
After the win, Arteta was asked about Odegaard’s injury.
He said: “Martin, we still have to want and see. He wasn’t available today.”
The Gunners boss faced a new injury concern as Bukayo Saka was forced to leave the field with a minor knock in the 86th minute.
Saka was substituted by Ethan Nwaneri shortly after Mikel Arteta made changes to his attack, bringing on Gabriel Jesus and Raheem Sterling.
“I don’t know,” Arteta said on the forward.
“I made two changes with the front players and suddenly he’s down.
“I don’t know exactly what it is but he could not continue.”
Reflecting on the win over Tottenham, Arteta added: “We have the power to make a lot of people happy and proud.
“We certainly did that today in the manner that we won the game in the circumstances that we had before arriving into this match, and with this being the third consecutive away win here as well, it means a lot.
“So hopefully, they can enjoy it.
“There are certain things that we have to do better for sure, especially the simple things with the ball that I wasn’t happy at all with.
“But there are other things in the game that we have to do and the way we competed and defended, and the way we have the intention all the time to run in the spaces that they give you, it was unbelievable.
“Then you have to find a way to win in any context, and today it was tricky, because first of all they are a great opponent, secondly because we have to alter our plan quite a lot for the players that we had, and then you still win the game.”
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