Mikel Arteta has disclosed that Arsenal’s preparations for their 3-1 victory at Brentford were disrupted by a virus that affected several players in the squad.
The illness struck just before the crucial Premier League match on Wednesday, with a number of key Arsenal players falling ill. German forward Kai Havertz was sent home due to the bug, while England midfielder Declan Rice could only make a second-half appearance.
Martin Ødegaard was also reportedly affected by the virus ahead of the match. Despite starting, the Arsenal captain made a costly error that led to Bryan Mbeumo’s opening goal, and he was substituted in the second half.
However, the Gunners showed resilience, overcoming the illness to secure a vital win and stay firmly in the title race. Goals from Gabriel Jesus, Mikel Merino, and Gabriel Martinelli helped Arsenal bounce back and claim all three points at the Gtech Community Stadium.
“It affected players on the pitch and off the pitch,” Arteta said after second-placed Arsenal moved within six points of leaders Liverpool, who have a game in hand.
“It is nothing serious. But it wasn’t the ideal situation. In relation to the symptoms, with Kai it was obvious. He wasn’t feeling well at all. He had very clear symptoms so stay away from it, put him in a car, and go back to London.
“These things happen. In this period, there are always things thrown at you, infections, viruses, so I try to delay the line-up as late as possible because you can get up in the morning and unfortunately have a surprise like this.”
Arteta is optimistic that the virus will have subsided by his team’s trip to Brighton on Saturday.
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaihFajBadmT29ufud2Z
