Five players could miss Arsenal vs Man City Carabao Cup final | Football | Sport
Eberechi Eze, Jurrien Timber and Martin Odegaard are all fitness concerns for Arsenal ahead of the Carabao Cup final against Manchester City at Wembley. The trio were absent from Friday’s training session, though Mikel Arteta confirmed the squad will train again on Saturday. The boss has not ruled out any of them being available for Sunday’s fixture.
Eze seems the most likely to feature, despite apparently picking up a knock during Tuesday evening’s Champions League victory over Bayer Leverkusen. The goalscorer was withdrawn midway through the second period as a precautionary measure, but later told TNT Sports: “I’m alright, I’ll be OK.”
Arteta also confirmed they avoided any new injuries in Germany. Mikel Merino continues as a long-term absentee, with Odegaard and Timber also sidelined.
The captain has now been out for six consecutive fixtures with a knee problem since appearing as a second-half substitute in the north London derby. Odegaard also sat out four of the five matches prior to that, with his sole appearance coming off the bench against Brentford.
Timber, meanwhile, was substituted in the first half of a 2-0 win over Everton with an ankle complaint.
Nevertheless, the problem appears minor after being included in the Netherlands squad for their forthcoming friendlies against Ecuador and Norway. Notably absent from the Norway squad is Odegaard. England have also selected Eze for their matches against Japan and Uruguay.
Arteta discussed the fitness of Odegaard and Timber during Friday’s pre-match press conference. He said: “We have another training session, so the ones that are in contention hopefully can give us good news. We have another session, so let’s see if they can make it.”
City will certainly be without Josko Gvardiol, who broke his leg earlier this year. Max Alleyne has also been absent from their last two fixtures.
John Stones, Rico Lewis and Savinho have also missed recent matches but were on the bench for their midweek loss to Real Madrid.
Bernardo Silva was sent off in that match for handball; however, the ban only applies to UEFA competitions.
There is also some speculation about Erling Haaland after Pep Guardiola substituted the forward midway through the second half. However, his manager clarified afterwards: “Erling Haaland has no injury, he will be available against Arsenal in the cup final.”
Guardiola added on Friday: “I’m pretty sure he’s focused, like all of us. I didn’t speak with him, we had two days off [after the Real Madrid match], but I’m pretty sure he’s ready.”
