Arsenal Confirm Six Key Players To Miss Southampton Clash

The restart of the English Premier League has not been a smooth run for Mikel Arteta and his team. Arsenal on Tuesday confirmed that six key players would miss their Premier League clash against Southampton on Thursday at the St. Mary’s Stadium due to injuries and suspension.

Arsenal head to the game after losing 2-1 against Brighton in their last encounter on Saturday.

“Bernd Leno: Right knee. Aiming to return to full training in four to six weeks,” a club statement from Arsenal’s official website read.

“David Luiz: Suspended. Serving the second match of the two-match ban after red card during Manchester City.

“Pablo Mari: Left ankle. Likely to return to action in two to three months.

“Gabriel Martinelli: Left knee. He sustained cartilage injury during training on Sunday.

“Lucas Torreira: Right ankle. Sustained fracture to the right ankle during Portsmouth on March 2. Progressing well and aiming to return to full training in the next two to three weeks.

“Calum Chambers: Left knee. Ruptured anterior cruciate ligament of his left knee during Chelsea on December 29. Will not be available for a proposed schedule of remaining 2019/20 matches.”

The match kick-off is 6 pm Nigerian time.

Anaedoonline.com reported that Arsenal boss, Mikel Arteta, claimed he left Mesut Ozil of the squad that travelled to Manchester City “for tactical reasons”.

Ozil was left in London, as the Gunners lost 3-0 at The Etihad. Before Wednesday’s game, he had played in all of Arsenal’s matches since Arteta arrived in December.

The German playmaker also featured in friendlies against Championship sides Charlton and Brentford last week. However, Ozil was not included the 22-man squad which Arteta selected for the trip to Manchester.

When asked why Ozil wasn’t selected, Arteta told Sky Sports: “It was a tactical reason.”

In a subsequent interview, he added: “I’m going to select the players for the day that we believe as staff that are the best for the day and that’s it.”