Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard was forced off for the third consecutive Premier League game at Emirates Stadium. Mikel Arteta brought the the Norway international back into his starting XI to face West Ham United after some great cameos off the bench.
Shoulder issues have disrupted his start to the season and now a knee problem has resulted in him being replaced by Martin Zubimendi. Despite attempting to run off the problem, Odegaard was not able to continue which saw him taken off. The skipper was left devastated and had his head in his hands as he was replaced by Martin Zubimendi.
Arteta started with Eberechi Eze and Odegaard and the change will likely result in Declan Rice moving further forward and Zubimendi sitting at the base of midfield.
Speaking to reporters at the Sobha Realty Training Centre on Friday, Arteta insisted that his side plan to set the record straight, having lost each of their last two games against West Ham on home turf. The Arsenal boss also claimed that he also expects a ‘really tough match’.
“We want to continue to play and flow and dominate games in the manner that we are doing, and it’s going to be a key fixture,” said Arteta. “Obviously, we learned in the last two seasons as well, because we had two defeats against them here, and it’s something we need to put right, and tomorrow is another opportunity to do that.
The Spaniard added: “That’s the difficulty of that, and the game that we’re going to have to play tomorrow as well, with a new manager. We know Nuno really well, the way he sets his team.
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“So we expect a really tough match, as we’re going to demand again three days later, to come back and have the same performance to win the game.”
On potentially going top of the Premier League table, Arteta said: “It’s about generating momentum, and there are periods in the season that they are crucial and tomorrow’s game is a really important one for us.
“That’s why, from the beginning, we need to generate that, in the stadium as well, and go for it, because after we have two weeks’ break with the international week.”
This is a developing news story that will be updated with relevant information as we get it. More to follow…
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