Arsenal: Arteta provides an update ahead of Brighton

Ahead of Wednesday’s Premier League trip to Brighton & Hove Albion, Arsenal FC manager Mikel Arteta gave a detailed update on the state of his injury list. Speaking to the media, the Spanish coach was fairly reassuring regarding Kai Havertz, Declan Rice and David Raya. “He took part in part of the session, so we’ll see,” he said of Havertz, leaving a slight doubt over his starting spot.

There was more caution, however, over captain Martin Odegaard, who missed last weekend’s 2-1 win over Chelsea FC. “We’re going to assess the situation. We need to see how he feels,” Arteta explained, without committing further. On Raya, the message was clearer: “David is ready.” Good news for the Gunners in this final stretch. Arteta also confirmed Dowman’s availability, while Ben White remains unavailable.

Finally, on Rice, the London-based manager sounded optimistic: “I hope so. He was much better today. We haven’t really been able to train, because we’ve only had two days to prepare, so I hope he’ll be better tomorrow.” Arsenal head into this fixture with several uncertainties, but also some reasons for hope, ahead of what is always a tricky trip to the south coast of England.