Bukayo Saka OUT of Arsenal squad vs Chelsea as new injury timeline emerges
Arsenal take on Chelsea in the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final clash on Tuesday evening and England winger Bukayo Saka remains ruled out of the side in a blow to Mikel Arteta
by Daniel Orme · The MirrorBukayo Saka AND Martin Odegaard will miss Arsenal's Carabao Cup semi-final clash with Chelsea. The Gunners welcome their London rivals to the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday evening for the second-leg, having won the first leg 3-2 at Stamford Bridge.
But Arsenal will be attempting to book their spot at Wembley without key players Saka and Odegaard. The former picked up an injury in the warm up ahead of the weekend's Premier League clash with Leeds United. The England man has been left out of the squad entirely for Tuesday's game, while Odegaard is also missing
Speaking before the game, Mikel Arteta said of Saka's issue: "We have to wait. Today he was better but we have to wait and see how he responds, and then make the decision."
"It doesn't look like something too serious. Whether he's going to be available for tomorrow or the weekend, we'll see."
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Saka missed training ahead of the clash with Chelsea, with it being suggested that he is aiming to return ahead of the North London Derby on February 22.
Before that, Arsenal will take on Sunderland and Brentford in the Premier League, as well as League One side Wigan Athletic in the fourth round of the FA Cup.
Another player that Arsenal are without for the foreseeable future is midfielder Mikel Merino, who will undergo surgery for a foot injury.
Who will win the Carabao Cup? Share your predictions in the comments below
On the Spaniard, Arteta added: "He needs to go through a procedure, which is not always positive. He's a big player for us, a player that has such versatility and capacity to compete in various positions, and that's a big blow.
"It's a very rare injury so we have to wait and see once we have the surgery, how that reacts daily, obviously monitor it throughout the week for the surgery and see. I know Mikel is going to do absolutely everything that he possibly can to come back as quick as possible. But as well you have to respect the healing process and the fact that obviously it's an injury that is quite rare."
Should Arsenal progress to the final of the Carabao Cup, they will take on either Newcastle or Manchester City. Pep Guardiola's men currently hold a 2-0 advantage from the first leg thanks to goals from Antoine Semenyo and Rayan Cherki.
Arsenal XI vs Chelsea: Kepa; Hincapie, Gabriel, Saliba, Timber; Rice, Zubimendi, Eze; Madueke, Martinelli, Gyokeres.
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