Arsène Up on His Feet: Champions League Clash vs. Leverkusen!
Arteta confirms Arsenal star “is available” to face Leverkusen Mikel Arteta admitted that Arsenal need “every single element that we have to be in our favour” to progress to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League. Kai Havertz rescued a late first-leg draw against Bayer Leverkusen in Germany last week, setting up a winner-takes-all tie in North London on Tuesday. Speaking to the media in his pre-match press conference, Arteta gave insight into team news, what he expects from Bayer Leverkusen, and how he reflects on Max Dowman’s history-making performance against Everton on the weekend.
Arsenal will be able to count on Leandro Trossard at the Emirates Stadium as Arteta confirmed that the Belgian international “is okay and he felt good so he’s available,” but ruled out both Jurrien Timber and Martin Ødegaard from Tuesday’s second leg. The Norwegian midfielder is “really pushing” to be available for Sunday’s Carabao Cup final against Manchester City, Arteta revealed, “but we’ll have to wait and see in the next few days when he trains with the team how he feels. ” Turning his attention to the rather pressing matter of a Champions League knockout tie, the Arsenal boss explained that he expects a “very similar” Leverkusen side to the one that held the Gunners to a 1-1 draw last week.
He said that die Werkself are “really well coached, a team with a very clear structure, really good individuals. “Obviously we are in the stage, in the competition that we are in right now, so we know what we have to do, and in front of our crowd, with our people, putting all the energy in the world again, hopefully we are going to do it. “A lot of factors will contribute for us to be in the quarter-finals tomorrow night after the game, and we need to put every single element that we have to be in our favour to achieve that.
” Also on the agenda at the Sobha Realty Training Centre was 16-year-old Max Dowman, who became the youngest goalscorer in Premier League history with his stoppage-time strike against Everton. Arteta commented that he was “very” proud of the youngster, adding that “to do what he did in such a moment, [it’s] very rare to see, or impossible almost. But the Spaniard urged Dowman, who is still at school and hasn’t yet sat his GCSEs, to continue developing.
“What you’ve done a few days ago is not relevant anymore. It’s about the next one,” he explained. “We have the leadership group obviously and certain individuals that are very close with him.