The early-season injury list is growing for Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta, as the Gunners prepare to open their 2023-24 Carabao Cup campaign against Brentford on Wednesday ahead of an upcoming Premier League clash with title rivals Manchester City.
Declan Rice has become the latest first-team name to face a spell on the sidelines after Arsenal’s “Swiss Army Knife” was forced off with a back injury at half-time of Sunday’s north London derby draw against Tottenham Hotspur.
After the match, Arteta said his £105m summer signing had been “really uncomfortable” during the half in which he played, adding that Rice was “not feeling good” after being unable to carry on.
In his pre-match conference on Tuesday, Arteta then revealed that Rice is yet to train and that he is hoping the England midfielder’s injury is “nothing too big”.
Alongside Rice, the Arsenal boss confirmed that both Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli would be unavailable for Wednesday’s cup match at Brentford, with the former also not having trained since feeling a muscle issue that kept him out of the north London derby.
“There are some traumatic injuries that we try to avoid but [injuries] are a part of football,” he added.
Arteta will hope his club-record signing and other first-team regulars are fit to face defending champions Manchester City in the league on 8 October, which will be the Gunners’ fourth fixture in the next 12 days.
Arsenal’s next four fixtures
- 27 September – Brentford (A) Carabao Cup third round
- 30 September – Bournemouth (A) Premier League
- 3 October – Lens (A) Champions League group stage
- 8 October – Manchester City (H) Premier League
Winger woes
Prior to Rice’s injury, Arsenal have also had to play their last two-and-a-bit games without first-choice left-winger Martinelli, who missed the Gunners’ rampant win over PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League last week and was then absent from the matchday squad against Spurs.
The 22-year-old Brazilian wide man was withdrawn early on in Arsenal’s tense 1-0 win over Everton on 17 September, with a hamstring injury given as the cause.
Arteta initially appeared to indicate that Martinelli could return for the crucial north London derby this past weekend, before leaving him out of the squad as his recovery continued.
Though Arteta’s pre-match comments confirmed Martinelli won’t play a role in Arsenal’s Carabao Cup opener on Wednesday, reports suggest he could be in line for a comeback within the next fortnight.
Versatile forward option Trossard was the man thrown on in Martinelli’s place at Goodison Park, and the Belgian rewarded that faith with the game’s only goal to seal a close-fought win that ended a run of three consecutive defeats for the Gunners on Everton‘s turf.
Trossard was on the scoresheet once again the following game, providing Arsenal’s second against PSV, but subsequently missed Saturday’s draw with Spurs due to an injury of his own.
“A slight muscle issue” was the reason given by the club for his absence, with Arteta confirming the player had felt muscle tightness in training during the week.
While he – like Rice and Martinelli – has been ruled out against Brentford, Trossard should also be available by the time Manchester City come knocking early next month.
Arteta will hope the former Brighton man could even return for Saturday’s trip to Bournemouth and negate the need for one of Eddie Nketiah or Gabriel Jesus to ineffectively play out of position in the frontline again (as was the case against Spurs).
As for the other member of Arsenal’s attacking trio on Saturday, Arteta said at his press conference on Tuesday that it was a “possibility” that right wing stalwart Bukayo Saka could miss this weekend’s match against Bournemouth.
Saka has started each of Arsenal’s games this season and excelled with a goal and assist (forcing Cristian Romero’s own goal) at the weekend against Spurs, but was subbed late into added time after limping and appearing uncomfortable.
Previous reports have suggested the England international could still be feeling an Achilles issue picked up towards the end of the 2022-23 campaign, while Arteta added that Saka has been unable to participate in training sessions so far this week.
In central midfield, Fabio Vieira was the other player – alongside Rice – to be hooked at half-time on Saturday when Kai Havertz and Jorginho were introduced, but Arteta confirmed post-match that decision was purely a “tactical” one.
Long-term absentees, and who could be at Arteta’s disposal this week
Any extended absence for Rice would undoubtedly come as a blow to to an Arsenal side that are also missing the defensive midfield capabilities of Thomas Partey, who picked up a groin injury in training and has not featured for the Gunners’ since a 2-2 draw with Fulham a month ago.
Latest reports suggest the Ghana international could be set for a return after the next international break, meaning he could next feature in the league against Chelsea on 21 October or during Arsenal’s Champions League trip to Sevilla on 24 October.
In a situation where both Partey and Rice are unavailable, Arteta could turn to Jorginho as he did for the second period against Spurs, with long-time squad member Mohamed Elneny another possible option in the holding midfield role, alongside the more attack-minded Vieira, Havertz and Martin Odegaard.
Though his absence may arguably be felt more than that of any other player in this Arsenal side, Rice also is not the first of the Gunners’ summer signings to miss time this season, with former Ajax defender Jurrien Timber having suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury on his Premier League debut against Nottingham Forest last month.
Though the Netherlands international was spotted last week without crutches for the first time since undergoing surgery, it is likely he will be out for most if not all of the rest of this season.
Prior to being sidelined himself, Partey had been filling in for Timber as an inverted full-back, while Ben White has now taken hold of the right-back spot in a back four alongside Gabriel Magalhaes, William Saliba and Oleksandr Zinchenko.
With short and long-term injuries already affecting his squad at this early point in the season, Arteta seemed to confirm some degree of rotation could be expected against Brentford ahead of a busy winter schedule.
“There are a lot of players that need minutes,” the Arsenal coach said on Tuesday. “Some players have not had many minutes and they are going to have that exposure tomorrow.”
With a shortage of attacking options available, the likes of Reiss Nelson and Emil Smith-Rowe could be options on the wings after featuring off the bench against Spurs, while Aaron Ramsdale – who recently fell behind Bees loanee David Raya in the goalkeeper pecking order – could make an appearance between the sticks.
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