Arsenal v Real Madrid Injury Updates: 9 players could miss Champions League quarter final clash
Arsenal could be without up to five players for the first leg against Real Madrid on Tuesday night at the Emirates.
Arsenal face arguably the biggest game of their season this week, as they play against Real Madrid in a Champions League quarter-final tie, in what is their last chance at silverware this campaign.
The Gunners beat Dutch side PSV in the last round 9-3 on aggregate to set up their tie against Madrid. They host the first leg at the Emirates on Tuesday night before heading to the Bernabeu a week on Wednesday.
Arsenal’s latest injury news suggests that they could be without up to five players for the clash on Tuesday night. Whereas Real Madrid’s injury updates include big names such as Dani Ceballos and Thibault Courtois.
Arsenal’s current injury list
Arsenal have five players who have been ruled out of the game against Real Madrid on Tuesday, with four of those out for the rest of the season.
The biggest loss is Brazilian centre-back Gabriel, who suffered a season-ending hamstring injury during Arsenal’s 2-1 win against Fulham last week. It means that Arteta won’t have his duo of Gabriel and Saliba defending against the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham on Tuesday.
Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus and Takehiro Tomiyasu have also been ruled out for the rest of the season. They are all working to return before the start of next season, with Jesus looking more likely to be out for a longer period of time.
Full-back Riccardo Calafiori is dealing with a knee injury that he suffered whilst on international duty with the Italy side. He is unlikely to feature against Madrid on Tuesday, meaning that Jurrien Timber will likely occupy the right-back spot with Myles Lewis-Skelly on the left.
Arsenal’s recent recoveries
The Gunners did get their star attacker in Bukayo Saka back last week when he came on as a substitute against Fulham, scoring after just six minutes on the pitch, in what was a superb return for the winger.
He played just the second half against Everton in their 1-1 draw at the weekend, but is expected to be fully available for 90 minutes against Real Madrid on Tuesday night which is a huge boost for Mikel Arteta.
Mikel Arteta’s comments on Arsenal’s fitness
The Arsenal boss commented on Calafiori’s status ahead of their game against Everton at the weekend. He said: “Ricky is not fit, and that means in the last week or so we have lost four players and that's obviously a big task.”
He was also delighted to see a return from Saka ahead of the Madrid game, he said: “It's like always, after coming through a difficult situation, a really nice one can appear. I think all the hard work and all the difficult moments he had in the last four months, they were paid off just by receiving that love, that support and that admiration from all our people.”
Impact on team selection and tactics
With Saka being back, he is expected to start against Madrid with Gabriel Martinelli likely playing on the other wing, allowing either Mikel Merino or Leandro Trossard to occupy the striker position.
The lack of Calafiori means that the full-back pairing will likely be Lewis-Skelly and Timber, whereas Jakub Kiwior is expected to fill in for Gabriel in defence, much like he did against Everton last time out.
Real Madrid’s injury concerns
Tuesday’s opponents could be without several players on Tuesday. The biggest headline is that both of their goalkeepers Thibault Courtois and Andriy Lunin are set to be available despite both missing their last game, which was a 2-1 defeat to 15th-placed Valencia in La Liga. Ancelotti was forced to start 19-year-old Fran Gonzalez in goal for that match.
Former Arsenal midfielder Dani Ceballos is a doubt due to a muscle injury which has kept him out for eight matches. It is not yet understood whether he will be ready.
Defender Ferland Mendy is also a doubt because he is dealing with a hamstring injury. This means that Ancelotti could be without his first-choice left-back against Saka on the wing.
Dani Carvajal and Eder Militao will both miss the game as they are dealing with ACL injuries which have ruled them out for the remainder of the season.