Arsenal are set to be boosted by the return of Declan Rice, Martin Zubimendi, Gabriel and David Raya when they play Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League on Wednesday.
The quartet missed Saturday’s FA Cup win at Mansfield and Mikel Arteta confirmed they were left out because they have been carrying fitness issues.
Arsenal wanted to give some of their key players a rest, while William Saliba, Martin Odegaard and Ben White were missing through injury.
Arteta has confirmed Arsenal wanted to “clean those issues” for players like Rice, Zubimendi, Gabriel and Raya, who are all expected to return when Arsenal face Leverkusen in Germany in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie.
“Well, they had issues and they've been carrying issues,” confirmed Arteta. “And the amount of games that we are playing, it's obviously super demanding.
“And it was the only time to try to make sure that we can clean those issues that they're having to start the next sequence of two weeks before the break in the best possible way.
“We had to make those decisions.”
Leandro Trossard and Riccardo Calafiori were both forced off against Mansfield, as Arsenal survived an FA Cup scare to win 2-1 to reach the quarter-finals.
Speaking after the Mansfield game, Arteta also issued an update on Trossard and Calafiori when he said: “Both of them, they had little niggles, they weren't comfortable to continue.
“And we knew that this could be a possibility, especially in the conditions that we're playing today. So, we have to take them off.”
Arsenal will also hope Saliba is fit to return from his ankle injury against Leverkusen as the relentless fixture list continues.
