Mikel Arteta offered updates about the state of the squad as Arsenal travel to Club Brugge.
The team have been hurt by the absence of their first choice central defenders, and Leandro Trossard was forced off the pitch as a second half substitute at Villa Park in a 2-1 defeat on the weekend.
There is more bad news as a talented teenager adds to the injury list, but a fellow forward is in the mix, and the manager hopes that the problems can start to subside for good over the winter period.
“Unfortunately, Max Dowman picked up an injury last weekend and had to come off. So he did some scans and he is going to be out for weeks and then we have the situation of Gabriel Jesus, who we were expecting to be training with us by the end of December.
“Gabi has been pushing every single day and he kept telling everybody ‘I am going to be earlier, earlier, earlier’ and he has done it. So thanks to his work and all the work that the medical staff have done in all these months, and we had the possibility to make a swap there and we have done it.
“Declan Rice was ill. He was quite sick after the game, and he hasn’t travelled with us. William Saliba is still not available, and Leandro Trossard again picked another knock in an area where he had the issue, and I don’t expect that it’s going to be long, but unfortunately, he cannot be here.
“I’m really happy with how Christian Norgaard has come to the club, especially with him and everything that we need to do in many areas. Not only in the pitch, but what he has to do, he excels in the manner that we expect him. I think it’s similar to Ben White or Myles Lewis-Skelly.
“They haven’t played as much as expected, but they’re very positive.”
