Mikel Arteta issues surprising Martin Odegaard, Kai Havertz injury updates before Arsenal vs. Atletico Madrid

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has revealed that Martin Odegaard and Kai Havertz will both be available for Tuesday's Champions League semi-final second leg against Atletico Madrid.

Neither player was seen in the Gunners' open training session on Monday morning, fuelling fears that they would both miss the visit of Diego Simeone's side.

Odegaard picked up yet another knee injury in last week's 1-1 first-leg draw and was not involved in Saturday's 3-0 Premier League win over Fulham, which Havertz also missed with a muscle injury.

The Germany international sustained his latest issue against Newcastle United two weekends ago, although Arteta delivered a surprisingly positive update in his pre-game press conference.

Despite both players' absence from the part of practice open to the media, Arteta confirmed that they would both be in the squad, saying: "Yes, they are available.

Arsenal's Kai Havertz, Martin Odegaard available for Atletico Madrid clash

"They are in the squad, both of them. We need options, we need the capacity to play different games tomorrow, whether it’s from the start or after. So it’s really, really good news for us to have them both back.”

However, there was no word on right-back Jurrien Timber, who is seemingly set to miss out once again with the groin injury he sustained over the international break.

Mikel Merino is also working his way back from a foot operation, but Arsenal otherwise have all of their options available for Tuesday's second leg, in which they will endeavour to end a 20-year exile from the Champions League final.

Earlier on Monday, Atletico named a 25-man squad for the second leg of the semi-final, as Diego Simeone received a quadruple injury boost.

Why Martin Odegaard, Kai Havertz should not start for Arsenal against Atletico Madrid

Having Odegaard and Havertz available is excellent news for Arsenal, as the pair have registered a combined 17 goal involvements between them this term, despite their persistent fitness issues.

However, those repeated injury woes are one reason why Arteta should hold off on bringing them back into the first XI on Tuesday, especially in Odegaard's case.

It is not clear whether the Norway international's latest knee problem is a new injury or a flare-up of a previous issue, but regardless, he has now spent three periods out with such concerns in the 2025-26 season.

Meanwhile, Viktor Gyokeres is in no position to drop out after his goal and assist against Fulham, while Havertz starting in the number 10 role has not paid dividends; that experiment failed against Southampton, Manchester City and Bournemouth.