Arsenal have illness concern for Fulham clash as Odegaard struck down

Arsenal have a concern over illness in the camp ahead of Sunday’s Premier League clash at Fulham. Martin Odegaard is the latest player to report unwell and misses the Europa League clash at Sporting Lisbon tonight.

Mikel Arteta was already without Kieran Tierney due to illness for the match in Portugal. The left-back would likely have come into the starting XI if he was available.

Oleksandr Zinchenko, therefore, keeps his place in the side. Odegaard’s absence sees Granit Xhaka come into the team after being rested from the start for the win over Bournemouth.

Fabio Vieira is the third player who has struggled with illness this week. However, he has now recovered after reporting a sore throat and he is fit to play in Lisbon.

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But Arteta and the Arsenal medical staff will be doing all they can to stop the issue from spreading through the squad. Arsenal are heading into the business end of the season and need as many players fit and firing for a title challenge.

They play London rivals Fulham on Sunday after Manchester City have the chance to close the gap on the leaders when they travel to Crystal Palace on Saturday. Arteta was calm about the sickness when speaking to the media on Wednesday.

He said: “These things happen throughout the season – sometimes they happen four days before a match, sometimes it is one day before. We’ll deal with that today and tomorrow and everybody will be in the best possible condition to compete.”

Arteta rotated for the first leg in Portugal but perhaps not as much as some fans would have expected. Bukayo Saka has started every league game this season but was again named in the team.

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Gabriel Martinelli is the only fit striker option for Arteta, with Gabriel Jesus not ready to be a part of the match-day squad. William Saliba kept his place at the back, with Ben White at right-back and January signing Jakub Kiwior making his debut.

Gabriel and Thomas Partey have been rested, as has goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale. Despite the changes, Arteta insists he is prioritising both the Europa League and the Premier League.

He said: “Our priority is the two competitions. Obviously we have to earn the right to continue in this competition to get as far as we want, and tomorrow we’re going to face a really difficult opponent.

“The best way to prepare for any competition is to win the previous match and having the confidence and the proper emotion to approach the next game. Tomorrow if we play well and we are able to win the game, that will better prepare us for the next game.”

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