Nine players could miss Athletic Club vs Arsenal after Arteta injury update

Arsenal will face Athletic Club in the Champions League on Tuesday evening, with both sides having players unavailable for the fixture due to injury

As many as nine players could miss Arsenal’s clash against Athletic Club this evening. The Spanish outfit host the Gunners at the San Mames Stadium on Tuesday night as the new Champions League campaign gets underway.

Fresh from a convincing 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest in the Premier League at the weekend, Arsenal are in high spirits. Meanwhile, Athletic Club are licking their wounds after successive defeats in La Liga, losing 1-0 at home to Osasuna and Alaves.

While the north Londoners may fancy their chances in the Basque Country, they’re set to be without some big names. Speaking to reporters on Monday ahead of the highly anticipated clash, Mikel Arteta confirmed his long list of absentees.

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The Spaniard ruled out Martin Odegaard (shoulder), Bukayo Saka (muscle), Ben White (unspecified), Kai Havertz (knee) and Gabriel Jesus (knee) due to injury. Arteta said: “Gabi, Kai, Ben and Martin are still out, unfortunately.”

Saka suffered a hamstring injury against Leeds United last month. When asked for an update on the England international, the Arsenal boss said: “No [he’s not ready], I think there’s still quite a lot of things to go through.

“It’s very early to understand when, which week, he’s going to be available. But he will certainly be pushing to be available as quick as possible.”

With so many players out, Arteta was asked if he plans to rotate his starting lineup. He replied: “It will depend on the availability of the squad and the form of the players.

“Unfortunately, we have a few players already out, so that is already limited in certain positions. But hopefully we’ve come to the point where the competition and the level of performance of the players is so high that we are able to do that very efficiently to win more football matches. That’s our objective.”

When asked whether Viktor Gyokeres will start, Arteta kept his cards close to his chest. The Gunners boss said: “Well, let’s see it. Against Forest at the end, Mikel [Merino] played as a nine.

“We have Leo [Trossard] who can play there, we have other options and other formations that we can adjust to that. At the moment, Victor is doing really well, so I’m really happy with that.”

On whether his squad is ready to win the Champions League, Arteta said: “It’s not that simple. You are so willing to do it, and you want to be better. I sense a very clear intention that they want to be better every single day, and that’s the start and the end, and there is nothing else to control.

“Create the energy and belief amongst the players, the understanding and the feeling that we can compete against any opposition and certainly they have that.”

Ernesto Valverde will also be without some players for the match against Arsenal. Nico Williams has been left out of the squad due to an adductor injury he sustained earlier this month.

Both Benat Prados and Unai Egiluz will be absent from Athletic Club’s line-up due to knee injuries, with both players needing surgery before they can return to the pitch.

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