Arsenal travel to Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League last 16 on Wednesday evening as they bid to take an important step towards the quarter-finals
06:00, 10 Mar 2026
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta
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Arsenal are set to return to Champions League action on Wednesday night against Bayer Leverkusen
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta will be hopeful of having his ranks bolstered this week as he prepares for Wednesday night's Champions League last 16 tie against Bayer Leverkusen.
The Spaniard revealed after the FA Cup win at Mansfield that Declan Rice, Gabriel Magalhaes and Martin Zubimendi were rested due to various fitness issues.
Arsenal also lost Riccardo Calafiori and Leandro Trossard to muscular problems at Field Mill and Arteta is set to provide an update on the duo on Tuesday during his pre-match press conference.
Mikel Merino, Ben White and Martin Odegaard are also on the sidelines and it's not clear whether the full-back or Gunners captain are ready to return just yet.
There are also doubts over William Saliba, who has missed Arsenal's past two matches with an ankle problem. Nonetheless, we can expect wholesale changes from Arteta after he rotated his side heavily at Mansfield.
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David Raya will start in goal, then if Saliba is fit he will surely partner Gabriel at the heart of defence with Jurrien Timber and Piero Hincapie operating as the full-backs.
We have to assume Rice and Zubimendi will be fit to start and if so, they are shoo-ins in midfield where they could be joined by Eberechi Eze following his stunner against Mansfield.
There is a chance Kai Havertz could maybe start instead of Eze while in attack, the line-up virtually completes itself if Trossard is unable to make the trip to Germany.
There could be a big opportunity for Martinelli on the left and he was a regular starter last season in the Champions League knockout stages, scoring against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu.
William Saliba
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Arsenal defender William Saliba has been struggling with an ankle issue(Image: CameraSport via Getty Images)
On the right, Bukayo Saka is a must-pick after he marked his 300th Arsenal appearance with the winning goal at Brighton last Wednesday.
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Viktor Gyokeres will also lead the line and he will be looking to continue his rich vein of form in Europe after netting four times during the group phase.
Noni Madueke could have a big role to play from the bench while if Saliba isn't able to start, Cristhian Mosquera should partner Gabriel at the heart of defence.There is also a chance Myles Lewis-Skelly could get the nod at left-back with Hincapie moving alongside Gabriel at centre-back, just as he did in the closing stages at Brighton.
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