Arteta hopeful Arsenal captain Odegaard will return for Bayern clash
Martin Odegaard has not featured for Arsenal since October 4, but the Gunners captain could make his return against Bayern Munich.
Mikel Arteta has revealed that Arsenal are hopeful that their captain Martin Odegaard will return for their Champions League clash against Bayern Munich.
Odegaard had not featured for the Gunners since picking up a knee injury against West Ham on October 4, which came after a short spell on the sidelines due to a shoulder problem.
Having thrashed Tottenham 4-1 in the Premier League, Arsenal turn their attention to Bayern on Wednesday before another London derby against Chelsea on Sunday.
Arsenal and Bayern were two of the four teams that did not trail at all across their opening four matches in the Champions League this season, along with Inter and Manchester City.
The Gunners are the only team yet to concede a goal in the Champions League this season, while they rank first for both expected goals against (1.9) and shots on target faced (seven).
Meanwhile, Bayern are ranked joint-first for goals (14 – level with Paris Saint-Germain) and expected goals (12.3) across the opening four matchdays of the current tournament.
Arteta is optimistic that Odegaard can play a role against Bayern at the Emirates, while Kai Havertz and Viktor Gyokeres could return to face Chelsea.
"We are going to have a meeting now to decide on Martin," said Arteta.
"He was really close for the last game. We are hopeful that he can be involved [against] Bayern."
And on Havertz and Gyokeres, he added: "Really good, both of them. So in the next few days, they will have repeat scans to see if we can push them for the weekend."
Arsenal have won each of their last eight Champions League group/league phase games by a combined 24-2 scoreline – it is already their longest such run in competition history.
However, the Gunners are winless across their last five meetings with Bayern since a 2-0 win in October 2015 (D1 L4), with three of their four defeats in that time coming via 5-1 scorelines.
In-form right-back Jurrien Timber is anticipating a difficult task against the Bundesliga champions, but feels Arsenal's squad depth has helped prepare them for such games.
"Bayern are a big club; it's going to be a tough game. It's two teams that want to press," said Timber.
"I think it's the environment and the culture we're having here. I think everyone is trying to push each other.
"We have a big squad, so we have to push each other, but we're also trying to win something.
"I think I'm in the right environment to develop myself and become the best version of myself."
