Arteta on Rice and Califiori fitness, Gabriel Jesus and five years as Gunners boss
Mikel Arteta says Declan Rice and Riccardo Califiori are both available for Arsenal’s trip to Crystal Palace and is confident Oleksandr Zinchenko could join them.
Rice sat out Wednesday’s 3-1 win over Palace in the Carabao Cup for an unspecified issue, with Califiori not featuring since a 5-2 win over West Ham last month.
“They are both available,” confirmed Arteta in Friday’s pre-game press conference.
And when asked about Zinchenko, who hasn’t 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 the first time he had scored at home in more than a year, while he is yet to open his account in the Premier League this term.
On the No9, Arteta said: “He was really happy because he helped the team win to get to the semi-final and that’s what we wanted.
“You can see his immediate reaction, a big smile on his face and that’s what we need from everybody to be at the highest level of performance and Gabi [Jesus] certainly had that.
“He’s looked really good since coming back from pre-season. After he had a setback, he started to play and had some good performances without scoring. What he did the other day is exactly what we need in our nines.”
Arteta is celebrating five years as Arsenal boss this weekend, transforming the Gunners into a struggling outfit into one of England’s top forces again.
On how they have grown in five years, the Spaniard said: “The unity, the connection and the fact we are competing in big fronts right now. We haven’t managed to do that in recent years so that’s 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.
“Those things take time. There was a connection here with the fans because I was a player and captain here but after going through different situations together it had galvanised the relationship.”
“I really enjoy working with the people I work with every day. We have built something together and everybody has contributed in a big way to achieve that and the fact that everybody is hungry and ambitious that now we have to go to another level. ”
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