Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has announced that two of his star players will miss tomorrow evening’s clash with Sporting Lisbon at the José Alvalade Stadium in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals.
On the other hand, Arteta has received a major morale boost with the return of three of his injured players ahead of the European clash.
Arsenal have lost their first two trophies of the season, having been beaten 2-0 by Manchester City in the League Cup final, and were knocked out of the FA Cup by a shock 2-1 defeat to Southampton.
Arteta is aiming to lead the Gunners to a major title, whether it be the Premier League for the first time since 2004, or the Champions League for the first time in their history.
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At the press conference ahead of the match against Sporting Lisbon, Arteta confirmed that the trio of Gabriel, Declan Rice and Leandro Trossard are fit for the game against Sporting Lisbon.
Meanwhile, according to the British newspaper "The Mirror", he noted the absence of the duo Jurrien Timber and Bukayo Saka.
Arteta said: “They haven’t travelled yet and aren’t fully fit, but we hope they’ll be ready for the weekend’s match if all goes well.”
Arsenal will also be without Ibrahima Ezi and Mikel Merino, due to long-term calf and foot injuries respectively.
On the Sporting Lisbon match, he explained: “What Sporting achieved at home is fantastic; a team has to be exceptional to maintain that level of consistency.”
Asked about the defeat at St Mary’s against Southampton, Arteta said: “We have to look at the bigger picture and realise how difficult it has been to get where we are. Let’s feel the pain and use it to improve. We know exactly what happened and why it happened. That’s football.”
He added: "I think that when you have an opportunity like the one we have this season, you need to focus on the pressure and the things we need to do. You have to be very clear about what has brought us to where we are now."