Mikel Arteta has offered a glimmer of hope that captain Martin Odegaard could be available to lead Arsenal in Sunday’s Carabao Cup final against Manchester City at Wembley.
The influential midfielder has been sidelined since the 4-1 victory over Tottenham on 22 February due to a knee injury and is set to miss Tuesday’s Champions League last-16 second leg against Bayer Leverkusen at Emirates Stadium.
Odegaard now faces a race against time as Arsenal seek to secure their first major trophy since the 2020 FA Cup.
"We are really pushing him," Gunners manager Arteta confirmed. "He really wants to try to be available but we’ll have to wait and see how he feels over the next few days when he trains with the team.
“We know the game that we’re going to be playing in a few days again and the more players that we have the better."
However, Arteta was less optimistic about the immediate return of Jurrien Timber, who sustained an undisclosed injury and limped off during the first half of Saturday’s 2-0 win against Everton.
"We don’t know. I think with him it will be a matter of days, but we’re not sure," the Spaniard stated, though he did confirm Leandro Trossard is fit for the Leverkusen clash.
Arsenal’s victory over Everton saw them move nine points clear at the Premier League summit, a match made memorable by the performance of young Max Dowman.
The 16-year-old, at 16 years and 73 days, became the competition’s youngest goalscorer, coming off the bench to assist Viktor Gyokeres’ opener before netting the second himself in injury time.
When questioned about Dowman’s potential for regular first-team action, Arteta responded: "Yeah regularly. Depending on what you call regularly. Depending on the game and how he reacts – I think his reaction has been really positive and in relation to what we need in the game.
“To do what he did in such a moment, it’s very rare to see, or impossible almost. He’s done it and now it’s football and what you’ve done a few days ago is not relevant any more, it’s about the next one."
Defender Riccardo Calafiori also praised Dowman, highlighting his maturity despite his youth.
"The first time that you see him on the pitch, you’re quite curious about him. He’s so young but at the same time so mature on the pitch," Calafiori said.
"He can improve so many things but he’s a talent, as you can see. But at the same time we have to leave him quiet and don’t speak about him too much because he has everything. For sure we try to give him some advice but for the moment he’s doing well even without our advice."
Looking ahead to the Champions League, where Arsenal drew the first leg against Leverkusen 1-1, Arteta expressed confidence: "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’re going to do it."
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