Mikel Arteta, Arsenal’s manager, has disclosed that several key first-team players may be unavailable for their upcoming match against Bournemouth this Saturday.
Declan Rice, a summer signing for the team, had to be substituted at halftime during last weekend’s 2-2 draw with Tottenham Hotspur. Arteta has revealed that Rice has not been able to participate in training this week due to a diagnosed back issue.
Furthermore, Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard, who were absent for the match against Spurs, have yet to return to training, raising concerns about their availability.
Additionally, Bukayo Saka, who was subbed out late in the north London derby and subsequently missed the midweek victory against Brentford in the Carabao Cup third round, may also be sidelined for the upcoming weekend fixture.
The Gunners boss told reporters: “Declan hasn’t trained yet; we have a session in an hour; we’ll get more news about him. Gabi [Martinelli] hasn’t trained; Leo is in the same situation; Saka is the same. They are all in the same pool; Willy [Saliba] had a knock, and Fabio [Viera] wasn’t involved. We have to assess them today.”
While Declan Rice’s substitution during the Spurs match was due to a reduction in his range of motion, Arsenal remains optimistic that his injury isn’t of a long-term nature.
Subsequent to his halftime departure from the game, a battery of tests has been conducted on the £105 million ($129 million) summer signing from West Ham in order to assess the extent of the issue.
Mikel Arteta faces a challenging dilemma in the next 24 hours regarding whom, if anyone, to take a risk with, especially considering the pivotal fixture against Manchester City in a week’s time and an upcoming Champions League journey to Lens on Tuesday.
As the match against Bournemouth approaches on Saturday, September 30 at the Vitality Stadium, Arteta is likely to have a severely depleted squad at his disposal.