Arsenal were back in training on Tuesday ahead of the Champions League quarter-final second leg against Sporting CP, but six players were missing
Declan Rice during an Arsenal game
Declan Rice missed Arsenal's training session on Tuesday(Image: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
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Six Arsenal stars were not spotted in the club's training session ahead of Wednesday night's showdown with Sporting Lisbon. The Gunners could be missing several key figures when they welcome the Portuguese side to the Emirates Stadium for the second leg of the UEFA Champions League quarter-final.
Riccardo Calafiori, Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, Jurrien Timber and Declan Rice were all absent from the session at the Sobha Realty Training Centre on Tuesday morning. Mikel Merino, who had surgery on a foot problem in February, was also missing.
The absence of Rice is a new concern for the Gunners, with Mikel Arteta refusing to go into detail about his issues. He said: "I don't want to do that. We will have to wait and see in the morning. He's played a lot of games and that is part of the issue."
On other players, he added: "We have to wait till tomorrow morning to see how some of the boys are."
However, the likes of Viktor Gyokeres, Eberechi Eze, Leandro Trossard, William Saliba, and Gabriel Magalhaes were all present.
Last week, Arsenal secured a narrow 1-0 victory over Sporting, giving them a slender advantage going into the return fixture.
Kai Havertz, who came on for Martin Odegaard midway through the second period, secured the win for the Gunners at the Jose Alvalade Stadium, slotting home past Rui Silva in added time. Speaking to the media afterward, Mikel Arteta was full of praise for the ex-Chelsea striker.
"He's lived it, he's been part of something and that's a really important thing to have in and around the team," the Arsenal manager said.
"And today he was ready, I could see from the disappointment the other day that he wanted to play immediately and the action of the goal, both from Gabi and him, is fabulous."
Arsenal trained ahead of their Champions League quarter final vs Sporting
Arsenal trained ahead of their Champions League quarter final vs Sporting
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While Arsenal may back themselves to reach the semi-finals, having remained unbeaten in the Champions League this campaign, they've suffered defeat in three of their last four matches across all competitions.
"What I'm trying to do is give our best to the club, give the best possibility to our players, and I know, if the atmosphere, the fans, the support, the energy in the stadium is the best in the world, we have a much better chance," he said after Saturday's defeat to AFC Bournemouth.
"I don't think that there's any other possibility to perform better than when you have that kind of support. "But then we have to respond, and we had moments in the first half where we did it, and there were other moments that we weren't at our level.
Kai Havertz
Kai Havertz celebrates his goal vs Sporting Lisbon(Image: Getty Images)
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"So, then we have to apologise to them and improve, for sure." The Gunners have gone from competing on four fronts to just two after their defeat to Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final was followed up by a shock loss at Southampton in the FA Cup.
Arsenal have also seen their lead at the top of the Premier League cut to just six points ahead of Sunday's clash with second-placed City.