According to football London, Arsenal is facing a severe defensive injury crisis, with seven first-team players reportedly missing training ahead of their critical Champions League game against Monaco on Wednesday.
The Gunners have been plagued by injuries throughout the season, and recent setbacks have further weakened their squad. Key defenders Gabriel Magalhães, Ben White, Riccardo Calafiori, and Oleksandr Zinchenko are all sidelined, compounding the team's issues.
Adding to the challenges, Thomas Partey and Jurrien Timber-who have been filling in across the backline-were also absent from the latest training session. Gabriel remains unavailable after aggravating a previous injury during Arsenal's 5-2 victory over West Ham in November and their match against Sporting Lisbon.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Mikel Arteta admitted the situation is difficult. "We have to manage a lot of players, so they're probably not going to be fit for tomorrow and are a doubt. I still have 24 hours to make those decisions and hopefully the right ones," Arteta said.
In the absence of White and Takehiro Tomiyasu, Partey has been deployed as a right-back, while Timber has taken on a left-sided role to cover for Calafiori. Arteta also mentioned 18-year-old right-back Josh Nichols as a potential option but admitted the youngster is not fully fit.
"He's been having some issues; we still don't know if he's available or not," Arteta explained.
There was a silver lining, however, as Kieran Tierney has returned to full training after being sidelined since Euro 2024. Arteta hinted that the Scottish left-back could soon feature. "He is ready and he's training really well. He's going to have an opportunity for sure with the way the team is looking at the moment. He's earned it with the way he's behaved and how willing he's been to contribute," Arteta said.
Arsenal will hope to overcome their injury challenges and secure a crucial result against Monaco to keep their Champions League campaign on track.
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