Arsenal have received a boost with several key players returning to fitness ahead of their UEFA Champions League tie. Mikel Arteta confirmed that Gabriel Magalhaes, William Saliba, Declan Rice and Martin Zubimendi are all fit for the match against Bayer Leverkusen.
Arsenal’s Key Players Return
Gabriel, Saliba, Rice and Zubimendi missed the FA Cup win over Mansfield Town. They are now available for selection. There is also positive news regarding Riccardo Calafiori and Leandro Trossard, who were forced off against Mansfield.
Both Calafiori and Trossard were swiftly back in training. Mikel Arteta stated that they are a possibility to be available. “Those two are a possibility that they are available, and we’ll see tomorrow,” he said.
Odegaard Remains Sidelined
Martin Odegaard remains unavailable due to a knee injury. “He’s out,” said Mikel Arteta regarding Odegaard’s status. Ben White and Mikel Merino are also unavailable.
Chelsea’s Injury Update
Jamie Gittens and Estevao are not quite ready to return for Chelsea’s clash with Paris Saint-Germain due to hamstring injuries. Levi Colwill is also a long-term absentee with a knee injury, despite returning to “modified training”. Gittens was involved in training, but Estevao was absent.
Chelsea’s Overall Fitness
Other than Gittens, Estevao and Colwill, Chelsea are in good health. Liam Rosenior spoke about managing minutes and training load to keep the squad strong for crunch games. “In my time I’ve tried to manage the minutes, the training load we do, the intensity we train with. A lot of staff have had an input to that and we’ve worked collaboratively in terms of that. The idea is that in these moments, the crunch games, we are as strong as possible.
“If you look at our squad now, Levi [Colwill] is back in modified training, Jamie Gittens is back. We’re working really well in terms of our injury load and that has to continue,” Rosenior added.
Manchester City’s Approach to Rotation
Pep Guardiola commented on rotation, following his 10 changes on Saturday. “We play 11 against 11 tomorrow. Of course, when you have everybody fit, and we play a lot of competitions, a lot of games, it’s better to rotate. Fresh legs, fresh minds,” said Guardiola.
There were no surprise absentees with the travelling squad.
With several players returning from injury, Arsenal will be hoping to put in a strong performance against Bayer Leverkusen.