Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has confirmed a triple injury boost ahead of the Carabao Cup fourth round tie against Brighton & Hove Albion at the Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners secured a seventh consecutive victory after a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace in the Premier League last weekend. As a result, they have a four-point lead at the top of the table.
Arsenal will be in League Cup action against Brighton tomorrow night. Ahead of the game, Arteta has confirmed the availability of three key first-team stars.
Declan Rice and Riccardo Calafiori sustained knocks against Palace and were substituted late in the second half. The duo have recovered in time for the Cup tie.
Bukayo Saka was deemed doubtful after battling illness last week. He was replaced by Gabriel Martinelli shortly after the hour mark of the London derby on Sunday.
Arteta revealed that the club graduate is fine too. He said (via Arsenal.com): “Rice will be available. Available (Calafiori) as well, yes. He’s (Saka) going to be ok.”
While the trio should make the matchday squad, Arteta revealed that William Saliba won’t take any part after picking up an injury during the first half against Palace.
The Frenchman is being assessed. Arteta added: “He’s out. We are assessing him, but he won’t be involved in this match.”
The manager likewise mentioned that the game will come too soon for Martinelli, who picked up a possible muscle injury against Oliver Glasner’s side last weekend.
He said on Martinelli: “Yeah, it looks like he’s going to be out. We have to do some more tests and see the extent of the injury, but this game is going to be too early for him.”
Aside from Salba and Marinelli, The Gunners, The Gunners Are Without Martin Odegarard, None Madueke, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus to face Fabian Hurzeler's side on Wednesday.
Despite this, the club have plenty of quality and depth in the squad, and Arteta is expected to field a strong starting line-up to win and secure a quarter-final berth.
Arsenal have kept five straight clean sheets across all competitions, but Brighton could pose a threat to that streak, given they have scored in their last nine matches.
Arteta is likely to field a new-look defence of Ben White, Cristhian Mosquera, Piero Hincapie and Myles Lewis-Skelly. It remains to be seen how they fare tomorrow.
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