Arsenal could be without eight players for the North London derby as Mikel Arteta faces a potential injury crisis after a handful of players picked up new problems on international duty.
The Gunners have been dealt a fresh double blow ahead of the trip to their rivals after Martin Odegaard suffered a sprained ankle while on Norway duty against Austria – with the playmaker now expected to miss their next game against Tottenham on September 15 – while Declan Rice is also set to be absent.
Rice picked up a controversial second yellow in Arsenal’s 1-1 draw to Brighton last time out so he will sit out the local clash alongside Odegaard – but there could be a string of other first team stars also forced to watch the huge game on the sidelines.
Odegaard and Rice will be crucial misses for the team in midfield as they bid to maintain their early push for the title and they could be joined by new signing Ricardo Calafiori after the Italian went off with a bizarre injury during Italy’s win against France in the Nations League – having been clattered by a falling Ousmane Dembele.
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Meanwhile, defender Jurrien Timber, who suffered a problem against Brighton – though Arteta insisted the issue was just “cramping”.
Meanwhile, Gabriel Jesus has been struggling with a groin injury having been missing since the opening day of the season when he came on in their 2-0 win over Wolves – with the Brazilian also a doubt for the game.
It comes with new £31m signing Mikel Merino confirmed to be out for the game after injuring his shoulder in his first training session since joining from Real Sociedad in a blow that could rule him out for months – with Arteta cursing his luck over what threatens to be an injury crisis.
Arsenal started the season promisingly with wins over Wolves and Aston Villa before being frustrated by Brighton in a game that saw them finish with ten men after Rice was shown a red despite being kicked by Joel Veltman.
They have a tricky period to get through after facing Spurs, with a trip to Atalanta in the Champions League to follow before travelling to title rivals Man City on September 22.
However, they will still be confident of upsetting bitter rivals Spurs away from home after Ange Postecoglou’s men showed vulnerabilities this season – drawing 1-1 with Leicester and losing 2-1 to Newcastle in their first three games despite dominating both matches.
