Injury problems: Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta is without several key players against Athletic Club in the Champions League
Arsenal Football Newsletter
The centre-back missed Arsenal’s 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest at the weekend despite returning to training earlier than expected following an ankle injury, but trained again on Monday and has travelled with the squad to the Basque Country.
While Saliba back fit, Cristhian Mosquera keeps his place in the starting XI alongside Gabriel following an impressive performance against Forest.
Manager Mikel Arteta was not able to provide a positive update on the fitness of either Ben White or Martin Odegaard, who didn’t train with the squad at London Colney on Monday and won’t feature in Bilbao.
“Gabby (Jesus), Kai (Havertz), Ben and Martin are still out, unfortunately,” Arteta said at his pre-match press conference.
There was also bad news regarding Bukayo Saka, with Arteta saying he was still some way from being fit enough for selection as he continues his recovery from a hamstring injury.
“I think he's still quite a lot of things to go through, very difficult to understand what week he is going to be available,” Arteta said.
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Odegaard’s injury left Arteta with a decisions to make in midfield. Against Forest, he opted to bring on Ethan Nwaneri as a like-for-like replacement in midfield.
However, Declan Rice, given a rest at the weekend, comes back into the side.
Meanwhile, Arsenal’s new look frontline of Noni Madueke, Viktor Gyokeres and Eberechi Eze are handed get another chance to impress, with Saka still missing.
The trio were crucial to helping Arsenal get back to winning ways against Forest and will relish the opportunity to make their mark in the Champions League.
Confirmed team news
Arsenal XI: Raya, Timber, Mosquera, Gabriel, Calafiori, Zubimendi, Rice, Merino, Eze, Madueke, Gyokeres.
Subs: Arrizabalaga, Setford, Lewis-Skelly, Saliba, Hincapie, Norgaard, Dowman, Nwaneri, Martinelli, Trossard.