Mikel Arteta to add two players to Arsenal squad vs Bayern Munich as injury nightmare eases

Arsenal are set for another two players to return from injury against Bayern Munich, finally putting an end to the crisis Mikel Arteta has faced in the early weeks of the season so far.

Arsenal’s injury crisis appears to be nearing the end, and just in time, as the north London side face off against their European rivals Bayern Munich. The Gunners have traditionally struggled against the Bavarian outfit, having failed to win against them since October 2015.

However, over 10 years on, Mikel Arteta has his side in a very different position to the one he picked them up in, making them among the favourites to win the Champions League this season. The last campaign saw Arsenal reach the semi-finals of the competition, and with the strength in depth they have, they will fancy their chances of going one step further.

A top-eight finish is on the cards, but Bayern Munich provide a test that will push them all the way, given the quality within their ranks. Much of how Arsenal are predicted to do is based on how many of their key players they can keep fit through the season, and failing that, how the rest of the squad steps up in their absence.

At times, the Gunners have been missing upwards of eight players this campaign, as key stars such as Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz, Martin Odegaard and more have been out of action. That crisis has seemingly eased, with the return of three players in Arsenal’s North London Derby win over Tottenham at the weekend.

Riccardo Calafiori, Noni Madueke, and Gabriel Martinelli all managed to get back into contention, battling back from their own individual injury concerns. It was quite a timely boost for Arteta, though there is more good news to follow on the injury front this week.

That’s because both Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Jesus were spotted in full training ahead of the clash with Bayern Munich, putting them in prime position to feature in the matchday squad on Wednesday night. It’s unclear exactly how quickly the manager will want to rush both straight back into action, however.

Odegaard has suffered from a few different injuries this season, with two shoulder problems contributing towards a stop-start opening to the campaign. His latest concern surrounded his knee, which he picked up in early October.

With the club captain now back in training, there is every chance he could be brought back into the squad to face Bayern Munich, though his own fitness, plus the form of Eberechi Eze, may well keep him out of the side for now. As for Jesus, the road to recovery has been longer than most.

At the start of the year, the Brazilian picked up an ACL injury in an FA Cup clash with Manchester United, leading to a spell on the sidelines. While he is now back in training, there will still be some conditioning work needed to get him back up to full match sharpness.

“He’s quite close to be fair,” Arteta told the press before the Bayern Munich game. “And it’s earlier than we expected, in the next few days he’s going to have another step to make, with a game that we’re going to organise for him, and after that he’s just going to be knocking on the door, because he’s Gabriel, a winner, that’s how it’s happened.”

It leaves three main injury concerns for the manager now, with Gabriel Magalhaes out with a thigh injury, while Kai Havertz and Viktor Gyokeres are still recovering. On the latter duo, Arteta said: “Really good, both of them. In the next few days, they’re going to have a repeat scan to see how everything is and where we can push them for the weekend.”