Nov 09,2024
Mikel Arteta said there is "no clarity" on Declan Rice's availability for Arsenal’s game against Chelsea on Sunday.
The 25-year-old has not trained this week, missing Wednesday’s Champions League defeat to Inter Milan, and the manager would not say whether reports the player has a broken toe are accurate.
However, there was a more promising update on the fitness of captain Martin Odegaard after the captain made his first appearance in almost two months as a late substitute in the San Siro.
"I have to be very vague (on Rice) because there’s no clarity whether he’s going to be fit or not for the weekend," Arteta said.
Asked whether Rice had broken his toe during last weekend’s 1-0 loss to Newcastle, Arteta added: "That’s for the doctor. What I can say is he hasn’t trained yet and it’s not clear whether he’s going to be available or not to play."
Arsenal’s form has slumped in recent weeks and the return of skipper Odegaard to the line-up cannot come quickly enough as Arteta seeks to arrest a sequence of one point from three Premier League games.
The 1-0 defeat in Milan was their third in six in all competitions but it is domestically where the situation is growing most urgent, with a seven-point gap having opened up to Liverpool at the top of the table.
Arteta confirmed that Odegaard is in line to make his first start since September’s draw against Brighton.
"Everybody that is in the squad is going to be fit and available to start, then it will be a decision whether it’s too early or it’s the right moment for him to make that step," he said.
The drop-off in form has coincided with sticky patches for a several of Arsenal’s top-four rivals, with champions Manchester City on a run of three successive defeats for the first time in 2018 and Aston Villa also having lost three in a row.
Between them, Arsenal, City and Villa have collectively lost eight of their last nine matches.
"Everybody has been consistently struggling with the level in this league and in general, in Europe playing every three days at this level," said Arteta.
"The temperature has gone up another level. To win, win, win and win – I would put my fingers here that no one is going to do a hundred points this year.
"It will require perfection to keep winning, and even the teams that are winning the margins have been like this (small), moments in games have been like this. It’s very tough but this is the task."
Arteta called on his players to translate self-belief into points beginning with Sunday’s game at Stamford Bridge as they look to leapfrog Chelsea back into the top four.
"When you don’t win it affects the mood, affects the energy, but the positive thing is that there is nobody in this room or outside that wants to win more than I do and more than these guys in the dressing room," he said.
"That desire is there. I had a meeting with them and I can sense it straight away.
"What I sense as well is a big belief in how good we are as a team. We need to take that into winning matches because it’s the only thing that anyone is going to judge."
Chelsea forward Cole Palmer is nearing fitness and could be available on Sunday, according to head coach Enzo Maresca.
The 22-year-old was walking unaided at Stamford Bridge as he attended the team’s Conference League win over FC Noah on Thursday and was suffering no visible effect of the knee injury picked up against Manchester United at the weekend.
A decision will be taken on Saturday as to whether the England international plays against the Gunners, and Maresca said the signs he will be recovered in time were hopeful.
"He’s getting better," the Italian said. "(Just because) he can walk and have dinner it doesn’t mean he is completely fit but we still have two days to prepare the game.
"Hopefully we can have him for the session at least Saturday and then we’ll take a decision."
Palmer has established himself as the creative heartbeat of Maresca’s side during their bright start to the head coach’s tenure.
Five wins from 10 in the Premier League sees them go into Sunday’s game above Mikel Arteta’s side in the table with a chance to climb into the top three and put daylight between themselves and last season’s runners-up.
Maresca has repeatedly stated he does not believe his team are ready to challenge Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool after the trio fought a three-way tussle for the title last campaign, but having lost narrowly at Anfield last month in a game they largely controlled there are sure signs of progress.
"Since we started I’ve said the same," said Maresca. "I analyse the results but first of all I analyse the performance. Do you think we deserved to lose against Liverpool? Me neither, but that’s football.
"Hopefully we can win Sunday, win that kind of game, but in the Premier League it’s difficult to win against any team. If I could decide, I would like to win against Arsenal on Sunday, but also Liverpool away the performance was very good and we didn’t deserve to lose.
"The good thing is that we are there. You cannot see a big difference (between the teams) when we play these kinds of games and this is the most important thing.
"I don’t know if it will be Sunday or the next game, but for sure we are going to win these kinds of games, no doubt."
The game will be a first meeting as adversaries between Maresca and Arteta, two managers who cut their coaching teeth as an assistant to Pep Guardiola.
The City boss appointed Maresca to be his number two in 2022, a role Arteta himself held prior to taking the Arsenal job – his first senior managerial role – in December 2019.
"I learned many things from Pep," said Maresca. "If I’m here today it’s because probably of the amount I was lucky to learn next to him.
"Mikel also has his own ideas. Probably we both have to be thankful because we worked beside the one that I consider the best manager in the world. We’ve both been quite lucky to work with Pep."
