"For sure" - Mikel Arteta's decision on star men ahead of Leeds United trip for Arsenal with updates on pair
Premier League leaders and title favourites Arsenal face Leeds United at Elland Road on Saturday afternoon.
Mikel Arteta has taken a decision on star Arsenal men ahead of Saturday’s Premier League clash against Leeds United at Elland Road.
Arteta’s side suffered just a third defeat of the Premier League season in Sunday’s hosting of Manchester United who left the Emirates with a 3-2 victory and the team’s busy schedule continued with Wednesday night’s Champions clash at home to Kazakhstan outfit Kairat Almaty.
Arsenal approached the contest having already qualified for the last 16 on a perfect seven wins from seven as they looked to complete the full set of victories in their final game of the league phase.
The game fell just three days before the club’s trip to West Yorkshire to face Leeds in their next Premier League clash in a Saturday afternoon 3pm kick-off at Elland Road.
Arteta had key men missing for Wednesday night’s Champions League clash, ahead of which defensive stars Jurien Timber and William Saliba were both ruled out with niggles, joining suspended pair Declan Rice and Mikel Merino on the sidelines.
Arteta, though, still took the decision to rest star men Gabriel and Bukayo Saka by dropping them to the bench and the pair were both unused substitutes as the Gunners recorded a 3-2 victory in which two other big players returned from injuries.
Kai Havertz, often a key man in the Gunners attack, has been working his way back to fitness after knee surgery and returned to action with a start against Kairat having missed the weekend’s defeat to Manchester United and got himself on the scoresheet.
Full-back Ricardo Calafiori also missed out against the Red Devils on Sunday but also came straight back into the starting line up on Wednesday.
Both Calafiori and Havertz came through 45 minutes of the match before being taken off at the break.
“Going to give us so much”
On the return of Havertz and also Calafiori, Arteta said as quoted by Arsenal’s official website: “ Yes, that was a very positive thing as well.
“Individually, getting Richy [Calafiori] back as well after the injury. Kai, not only bringing him in, I think the quality that he showed, the way he connected with the team, the goal that he scored, the assist that he made in the first half – a really positive performance.”
Asked if Havertz was now knocking on the door to play against Leeds, Arteta said: “For sure, he wanted to continue playing today, so I know what is coming tomorrow!
“He's fine, that’s what we planned, 45 minutes [before being substituted]. We wanted to start him as well so he could do all the processes before that in the best possible way, and from now on, we have to make a decision whether he starts or not in these competitions.
“He can play in [all positions] I think – right, left, attacking midfielder or nine. It doesn’t change much for him, depending on the position, the relationships we have around him, and the players that are available as well. We’ll make those decisions. The good thing is that he’s fit, he’s available and he’s going to give us so much.”