Fresh Arsenal injury blow ahead of Chelsea clash confirmed but Mikel Arteta decision reveals one major boost

Declan Rice has not taken part in Arsenal’s Champions League clash against Inter Milan after it was revealed earlier this week he had sustained a foot injury against Newcastle United.

The Gunners were beaten 1-0 at St James’ Park on Saturday afternoon and up next in the Premier League is a clash at Stamford Bridge against London rivals Chelsea on Sunday. Both clubs are in European action during midweek, with Arsenal travelling to Italy in the Champions League while the Blues are at home to Armenian side Noah in the Europa Conference League.

The good news for Arsenal is that Martin Odegaard is back, having missed the last 12 games with an ankle problem which he picked up on international duty with Norway back in September. He was named on the bench by manager Mikel Arteta against Inter after returning to full training but could be in line to start against Chelsea.

Speaking about his team’s injury problems, Arteta said earlier this week: “The positive news is it’s great to have Martin back. He’s trained with us for the first time, a full session today. He felt good, it’s a bit earlier than we expected, but he wanted to be with the team, so we’ll decide tomorrow whether we use him, but at least it’s a big step that he’s travelled with us and is part of the team. Declan unfortunately has picked up an injury against Newcastle. He was able to finish the game but he wasn’t feeling good in the last few days so we have to assess him on Thursday to understand whether he will be fit or not for the weekend.”

As mentioned, Rice managed to finish the game against Newcastle. Prior to kick off at the San Siro, Rice had only missed two games this season after he was banned for the North London derby win over Tottenham Hotspur while he was rested in the emphatic Carabao Cup victory over Preston North End. Adding more on the injury to the £105m midfielder, Arteta said: “It was a knock so it’s a problem with his foot. He wasn’t comfortable with it so at the moment he’s not fit.”

Bukayo Saka was named Arsenal captain for the clash at the San Siro while Ben White came back into the starting XI after being named on the bench for the last two games. Chelsea also have some injury concerns ahead of the weekend’s Premier League clash, with Cole Palmer facing a race to be fit in what would be a big boost for the Gunners.