Arsenal are without both Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard for their Carabao Cup semi-final clash with Chelsea.
Mikel Arteta's side host the Blues in the second leg of their all-London last-four tie tonight, holding a 3-2 advantage from their victory at Stamford Bridge last month.
Looking to reach their first final since 2020, Arsenal must cope without star man Saka and their captain Odegaard.
Saka picked up a muscle injury in the warm-up ahead of the 4-0 win over Leeds on Saturday, as he was replaced by Noni Madueke in the starting lineup at the last minute.
Arteta confirmed at his pre-match press conference that the issue was not a serious one, but he is not in the squad to face Chelsea.
Asked for another update on Saka ahead of the game, Arteta told Sky Sports: “He’s okay, we need to have more tests tomorrow to understand how he is. This game was too short. Let’s hope that it’s not too much.”
Reports suggest that Saka could miss a couple of weeks, with a potential return date of the north London derby against Tottenham on February 22.
Arteta said at his press conference that no new injury issues had been picked up, but Odegaard has also been ruled out of the Chelsea match.
The Arsenal captain impressed off the bench against Leeds, coming on to assist Gabriel Jesus' goal, and he looked set to start in the Carabao Cup.
However, with Odegaard unavailable, it is Eberechi Eze starting in his place in midfield, with Kai Havertz dropping to the bench.
Quizzed on Odegaard’s surprise absence, Arteta said: “During the game [against Leeds], he felt a little niggle. We tried yesterday, he wasn’t comfortable.
“So let’s see if he’s available for the weekend [against Sunderland], hopefully.”
