Martin \u00d8degaard will not feature for Arsenal against Bournemouth after sustaining a knock during Tuesday\u2019s Champions League victory over Sporting CP. The injury is significant enough to keep the club captain out of Saturday\u2019s clash with the Cherries.<\/p>\n
Norway manager St\u00e5le Solbakken described the incident in midweek, saying \u00d8degaard had suffered a “knock where he shouldn’t have” that forced him off against Sporting. Solbakken played down the issue as “minor” and added: “He’ll be back on the field before long.” Despite that assessment, the absence has already extended to the Premier League meeting with Bournemouth.<\/p>\n
Mikel Arteta’s handling of fitness news has been inconsistent, and while \u00d8degaard’s unavailability was not widely signposted ahead of the match, there was better news on another front. Eberechi Eze, who had been sidelined by a calf injury that ruled him out of the Carabao Cup final against Manchester City, returned to the matchday squad this week.<\/p>\n
Arteta remained coy on a return date for Eze, and reports had suggested the England international would be fortunate to feature at all in April. Yet, just a week after Easter, Eze has risen to return to the bench for the trip of Bournemouth.<\/p>\n
Arsenal named the following starting XI: David Raya; Ben White, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalh\u00e3es, Myles Lewis-Skelly; Declan Rice, Mart\u00edn Zubimendi; Noni Madueke, Kai Havertz, Gabriel Martinelli; Viktor Gy\u00f6keres.<\/p>\n
Substitutes: Kepa Arrizabalaga (GK), Cristhian Mosquera, Marli Salmon, Piero Hincapi\u00e9, Christian N\u00f8rgaard, Eberechi Eze, Max Dowman, Gabriel Jesus, Leandro Trossard.<\/p>\n
\u00d8degaard\u2019s absence is a fresh selection headache for Arteta and leaves Arsenal without their captain\u2019s creativity for the weekend match, while Eze\u2019s return to the bench provides a timely option from the substitutes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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