Mikel Arteta faces an injury crisis ahead of Saturday's Premier League clash against Wolves with Declan Rice among multiple players doubtful after missing the midweek Champions League win
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta could have Declan Rice back in the fold for Saturday's Premier League meeting with Wolves after the midfielder sat out the Champions League victory over Club Brugge. Rice had been managing a calf issue sustained during the Brentford triumph, but was considered ready enough to take part in the 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa.
After missing training sessions with his colleagues earlier in the week, he didn't make the trip to Belgium and was absent from Wednesday night's success. Mikel Merino slotted into midfield to cover for Rice, linking up with Martin Zubimendi and Martin Odegaard in the centre of the pitch.
Nevertheless, Arteta has indicated he's hopeful the England international will be available to face Wolves. "Let's see how he goes today, he was ill," Arteta said. "Normally in a few days, but let's see how he gets on."
Rice isn't the only Arsenal player entering the weekend with question marks, as five defenders could potentially miss out. Jurrien Timber was another unexpected omission from the midweek victory after sustaining a problem against Villa.
The former Ajax defender made the journey to Belgium but was excluded from the squad with no clarity on whether he'll be involved on Saturday night. "It depends on how he feels today," Arteta explained. "It was a knock that he picked [up] and he wasn't feeling comfortable." Timber's unavailability has compounded Arteta's fitness concerns, with William Saliba also uncertain.
The French international has been sidelined since sustaining an injury prior to the stalemate at Chelsea last month. Arteta had previously suggested his return was merely a matter of "days" away, yet he was absent from the last two matches.
"We have to wait and see, yesterday he didn't train." Arteta commented on Saliba. "We have an extra day, let's see if he can be available."
Leandro Trossard also sat out the victory in Belgium after a recurring calf injury flared up again. "Leo again picked up another knock in an area where he had the issue, and I don't expect that it's going to be long, but unfortunately, he cannot be here," Arteta stated ahead of Wednesday night.
When questioned about the Belgian's availability for the Wolves match, Arteta responded: "Again, it's a matter of days." One player who is certain to miss the weekend is Max Dowman. The 15 year old sustained an ankle ligament injury during a behind-closed-doors friendly against Manchester United last week.
It remains unclear how long the young prodigy will be out, but he was replaced by Gabriel Jesus in Arsenal's Champions League squad this week. "With Max, unfortunately, he picked up an injury last weekend, and he had to come off, so we did some scans and he is going to be out for week," Arteta elaborated.
In other news, Gabriel Magalhaes continues to be unavailable after suffering an adductor problem during the international break. Cristhian Mosquera will be sidelined until next year due to a 'complicated' ankle injury.
There's no set return date for the summer recruit, but speculation suggests a layoff of six to eight weeks. "He's going to be out for weeks unfortunately, it's much more than what we expected," Arteta revealed. "But the player was feeling it, so he's going to be out for weeks."
Forward Kai Havertz is still on the mend from a knee injury sustained in August. In early December, Arteta confirmed that the German's recovery was just a "matter of weeks" away.