Mikel Arteta has issued an Arsenal injury update after the Gunners booked their place in the FA Cup quarter-finals following a 2-1 victory over Mansfield Town
15:13, 07 Mar 2026Updated 15:28, 07 Mar 2026
Mikel Arteta
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Mikel Arteta has issued an Arsenal injury update after his side avoided an FA Cup upset at Mansfield Town
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has revealed Declan Rice, Gabriel Magalhaes and Martin Zubimendi were rested against Mansfield due to fitness issues.
The dependable trio did not travel with the squad to Field Mill and were handed the chance to recharge the batteries ahead of next week's Champions League trip to Bayer Leverkusen.
Arteta said post-match when asked why they were not involved: "Well, they had issues and they've been carrying issues. And the amount of games that we are playing, it's obviously super demanding.
"It was the only time to try to make sure that we can clean those issues that they're having to start the next sequence of two weeks before the break in the best possible way. And we had to make those decisions."
Rice was unable to finish the recent Premier League win over Chelsea but he was okay to start at Brighton just three days later, playing a key role in the 1-0 lead.
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But worryingly Arsenal's injury list now appears to have grown after Leandro Trossard and Riccardo Calafiori both hobbled off against The Stags.
Trossard started the match but the Belgian winger pulled up before half-time, holding his upper left leg which appeared to indicate he'd suffered a hip or adductor problem, respectively.
Left-back Calafiori then went to ground in the second half after feeling his hamstring following a clearance.
Arteta appears to have eased concerns either issue is serious though, explaining: "Both of them, they had little niggles. They were not comfortable to continue. And I knew that this could be a possibility, especially in the conditions that we're playing today. So we had to take them off."
Declan Rice
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Declan Rice was among the Arsenal players rested against Mansfield(Image: (Photo by Jacques Feeney/Offside/Offside via Getty Images))
Arsenal already had a number of players on the sidelines including captain Martin Odegaard, who has now missed the past three matches.
Ben White is also absent while versatile midfielder Mikel Merino is a long-term absentee. While Myles Lewis-Skelly was suspended for the trip to Mansfield, he will be available to feature next week in Germany against Leverkusen.
The Premier League leaders have four more fixtures - Leverkusen twice, Everton (H) and Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley - to fulfill before the international break at the end of the month.
Their Quadruple push remains very much alive and they will discover their FA Cup quarter-final opponents in Monday's draw live on TNT Sports.
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