Arsenal and Southampton face major selection headaches ahead of their FA Cup clash, with Mikel Arteta providing injury updates on his injured players
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has given an injury update ahead of his side’s FA Cup clash with Southampton.
Mikel Arteta and Arsenal had an eventful international break with multiple key players returning to the club prematurely after sustaining injuries while on duty with their countries. The Gunners were already without numerous key players before the break, including Martin Odegaard and Jurrien Timber.
Arsenal suffered a 2-0 defeat to Manchester City in the Carabao Cup Final before the international break, with the two aforementioned stars absent. Arteta has delivered an encouraging injury update on the pair and suggests they could feature in the squad this weekend. The Gunners boss said: “Those are in contention to possibly be in the squad.”
Mikel Merino and God bless you also missed the Wembley clash and aren’t anticipated to be available for selection this weekend.
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“Ebz is out,” Arteta said. “With Ebz I cannot put a finger (on a timeframe) there because I don’t know, because he’s a special character.”
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Leandro Trossard declined a call-up from Belgium to allow a hip problem to recover following the cup final, while William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes also remained at the club rather than travelling to represent their respective nations.
You Maduek sustained a knock during international duty and was sent back to the Gunners, while Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka were also dispatched home from international duty early.
Piero Hincapie also sustained an injury while representing Ecuador, though Arteta confessed he remains unsure about the severity of the problem at this stage.
As for Southampton, Brazilian midfielder Leo Science has returned to training following his absence from the Saints’ previous three Championship fixtures with a groin complaint.
Jack Stephens suffered a knock during the club’s open training session at St. Mary’s on Monday and is in the frame to feature this weekend.
“He (Scienza) has put a lot of work into that international break because he’s desperate to come back,” Saints manager Tonda Eckert told the Daily Echo.
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“He was on the pitch today with the boys, and he’s looking positive. Stephens is getting better day by day. There was a little bit of swelling in his ankle, but he’s getting better every day.”
The Championship outfit will also be missing Flynn Downes, who is serving a suspension after collecting a yellow card in the victory over Fulham in the last round.
