Mikel Arteta says Declan Rice and Riccardo Califiori are both available for Arsenal’s trip to Crystal Palace and is confident Oleksandr Zinchenko can join them.
Rice sat out Wednesday’s 3-1 win over Palace in the Carabao Cup with an unspecified issue, with Califiori having not featured since a 5-2 win over West Ham last month.
“Both are available,” confirmed Arteta in Friday’s pre-match press conference.
And when asked about Zinchenko, who has not been seen since the 2-0 win over Manchester United, he added: “I think he could be available.”
Gabriel Jesus scored a hat-trick at the Emirates on Wednesday in what was his first home goal in over a year, while he is yet to open his Premier League account this term .
On the No9, Arteta said: “He was really happy because he helped the team win to reach the semi-finals and that’s what we wanted.
“You can see his immediate reaction, a big smile on his face and this is what we need from everyone to be at the highest level of performance and Gabi (Jesus) definitely had it.
“He’s looked really good since coming back from pre-season. After having a setback, he started playing and had some good performances without scoring. What he did the other day is exactly what we need in our back nine.”
Arteta is celebrating five years in charge of Arsenal this weekend, having transformed the Gunners from a struggling outfit into one of England’s best forces.
Regarding how they have grown in five years, the Spaniard said: “The unity, the connection and the fact that we are competing on big fronts at the moment. We have not managed to do this in recent years so this is positive.
“I am here because I am so passionate about what I do and I love this football club. I try to be the best version every day.
“These things take time. There was a connection with the fans because I was a player and captain here but after going through different situations together the relationship was galvanized.”
“I really enjoy working with the people I work with every day. We built something together and everyone contributed in a big way to achieve this and the fact that everyone is hungry and ambitious that now we want to go to another level. “
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2024-12-20 15:34:49