Arsenal take on Newcastle United in Sunday’s Premier League game at St James’ Park.
The Gunners are already five points behind league leaders Liverpool following their 1-1 draw against Manchester City at the Emirates Stadium last weekend.
Mikel Arteta’s side now face a tricky challenge against the Magpies away from home. They have won just one of the previous five meetings at St James’ Park.
Ahead of the encounter, Arteta has confirmed that Odegaard ‘will be training’ with the first-team squad after recovering from an unfortunate shoulder injury.
The Spaniard was optimistic about his availability for Sunday’s game. He said: “Martin will be training with us the next two days, so hopefully he’ll be available for the game.”
The Gunners shared the spoils against Man City last weekend. Arteta was criticised for being over-cautious after he decided to start with three defensive midfielders.
Martin Zubimendi was accompanied by Declan Rice and Mikel Merino. Merino had a poor outing and almost gifted City with their second goal in the opening half.
Merino also started as a false number nine against Port Vale in the Carabao Cup third round. He had an equally disappointing outing and must be dropped on Sunday.
Earlier this week, Arteta said that Odegaard is ‘totally fine‘ after returning to full training. We won’t be surprised if he makes the starting XI against the Magpies.
The £30 million signing could replace Merino. This leaves Arteta with a big decision to make on whom to play on the left wing between Gabriel Martinelli and Eberechi Eze.
Martinelli may probably get the nod to start due to his counter-attacking pace and excellent late goals against Athletic Club and City coming off the bench.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com
