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Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has issued the latest fitness update on Oleksandr Zinchenko and Gabriel Martinelli ahead of the club’s Europa League clash with PSV.
THE LATEST: CRUNCH CLASH
Despite both Arsenal and PSV playing catch up after a period of UK national mourning saw this game previously postponed, they remain first and second in UEFA Europa League Group A.
The Gunners have excelled on every front this term, currently sitting at the peak of the Premier League table after picking up 27 of the first 30 available points and they can qualify for springtime European football with two games to spare should they win here.
A power cut saw Arsenal’s weekend game with Leeds delayed for some time, yet that didn’t stop boss Mikel Arteta from wild celebrations at the final whistle after a difficult 1-0 win. The passionate Spaniard stated that he “loves the resilience, the fight, the character, and the courage” that his side have shown, and history tells us that the Gunners will need that today again, as Arsenal have failed to win five of their eight all-time home H2Hs with Dutch opponents.
Ahead of the fixture, Mikel Arteta touched on a lot of topics, including the fitness of Zinchenko and Martinelli.
THE LATEST: TOUGH TEST AWAITS
Speaking on whether Zinchenko and Martinelli were ruled out, the Spaniard said: “No, they are not ruled out, but we will see tomorrow what we decide.”
A win for Arsenal will also see them put one foot on topping the group and the Gunners’ boss added that it was rather important to claim three points against the Dutch giants.
“Really important. In Europe when you have the chance to take advantage you have to do it. It’s always very unpredictable what can happen in the next game. You have to go away and we know the level of the other teams as well. What I can say watching them [PSV] and what they are doing domestically, internationally, [it will be] a really tough match.”
On whether the Man City game being postponed is beneficial, he added: “I don’t know, it is what it is. Obviously the fixtures and the amount of games that we have, at the end of the day we’re going to have to play with everybody and we have this schedule and we’ve adapted to it.”
THE VERDICT: IMPORTANT THREE POINTS
We can expect a strong lineup from Arteta based on those comments but it will be important for the team to take it slowly and not play under unnecessary pressure.
PSV are scoring for fun at the moment but Arsenal have all it takes to stop them in their tracks.
