Arsenal manager, Mikel Arteta, has confirmed that Declan Rice may miss the Gunners’ Premier League clash against Chelsea through injury.
Will Declan Rice Play Against Chelsea?
Declan Rice is unlikely to feature on Sunday afternoon, as Arsenal enter a London derby against Chelsea with a host of injury issues.
Arteta was asked about the latest on his current injury situation and the Spaniard’s comments on Rice were far from convincing as the England international pushes to recover from a toe injury.
Rice missed Arsenal’s midweek clash against Inter in the Champions League, as the Gunners lost 1-0 at the San Siro – ending their perfect start in Europe.
Arteta said (on Rice): “I have to be very vague on that one because there’s no clarity if he’s going to be fit on the weekend. He hasn’t trained yet and it’s not clear if he’ll be able to play.”
The Gunners boss also confirmed that Martin Odegaard will be in the squad for Arsenal’s trip to Stamford Bridge but may not start.
During the week in Arsenal’s 1-0 defeat by Inter, the Norwegian came off the bench to make his first appearance since September.
Arteta said: ““Everybody that is in the squad is going to be fit and available to start the game, so then it will be a decision whether it is too early or the right moment for him to make that step again.”
Arsenal have struggled with injuries this season with the likes of Riccardo Calafiori, Mikel Merino, Jurrien Timber, Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice have all missed vital matches.
Arteta spoke about the continued issues that the club have endured with injuries this season and hows his side need to ‘adapt’.
The Arsenal manager said: “We have to adapt a lot this season because we have a lot of injuries. That is something the team is learning and adapting to,
“A lot of the times it has worked and a lot of times something is missing. The team has the capacity to adjust.”
Despite these issues, Arsenal are still slight favourites to earn all three points at Stamford Bridge on the majority of UK betting sites.
