Fulham manager Marco Silva was in no mood to entertain the idea of Arsenal struggling with injuries ahead of their trip to Craven Cottage on Saturday.
A knee injury is set to sideline Arsenal captain Martin Ødegaard for several weeks, leaving the Gunners a little slim in attack as Noni Madueke, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus all continue their recoveries from respective injury issues.
While Silva acknowledged Arsenal’s fitness problems, he laughed off the idea of a crisis as he pointed to the strength in depth available to Mikel Arteta this season.
“They don’t have Madueke, they have [Bukayo] Saka, it’s not bad, not bad at all,” Silva said. “The other one you said was Havertz? They have [Viktor] Gyökeres who cost them £75 million. I think it’s a waste of time if you’re going to compare.”
When Ødegaard’s omission was highlighted, Silva responded: “They have [Eberechi] Eze who is not bad too. I think you have to move on.”
Silva: Fulham Suffering From Real Injury Crisis
Silva was eager to praise Arsenal for their work in the transfer market this summer, recruiting players to address the lack of depth in Arteta’s squad.
“I think it’s clear, with the long-term injury of Gabriel Jesus last season, they didn’t have Havertz, without them it was more difficult,” Silva conceded. “I saw them playing with another player there with [Mikel] Merino, [Leandro] Trossard.
“They had this issue last season with Havertz and Jesus, what they did they saw it, analysed it and signed Gyökeres. Even with the injury to Havertz and Gabriel Jesus they are ready to start with a striker, and about Saka it’s more or less the same thing, with Ødegaard it’s more or less the same thing.
“I think they can adapt to these unfortunate moments that all the teams have, like we have right now, probably the worst in my time at the club because we never had both strikers out at the same time, they are showing they have the conditions to handle it and deal with it so the level does not drop.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Arsenal’s Injury Issues Laughed Off by Fulham Manager Marco Silva.