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Arsenal team news update: 4 players could miss Chelsea trip

By on May 10, 2021

Emile Smith Rowe Arsenal

Arsenal could be without four players for our trip to Stamford Bridge to take on Chelsea on Wednesday night, Mikel Arteta has confirmed.

The boss has been speaking ahead of the game and revealed that Emile Smith Rowe is a doubt to face Chelsea after being forced off with a hamstring issue at the weekend.

Smith Rowe opened the scoring during Arsenal’s 3-1 victory over West Brom on Sunday but was later substituted after ‘feeling something’ in his hamstring. Arteta hopes it’s nothing serious and he hinted it may only be cramp as the 20-year-old is susceptible to cramps while he continues to adjust to playing high intensity football every three days.

Let’s hope it’s nothing major as Arsenal could already be without the services of Granit Xhaka, David Luiz and Pablo Mari for the trip to west London on Wednesday night.

Xhaka missed Arsenal’s Europa League semi-final draw with Villarreal and the subsequent win over West Brom after picking up a groin injury before the game last week.

Mari also missed the WBA game due to a thigh injury while David Luiz has been back in training recently after recovering from a hamstring injury that’s kept him out for the last two matches.

Arteta says all three players will be assessed before their availability for the Chelsea game is decided. Arteta told Arsenal.com:

on Emile Smith Rowe limping off…
I don’t know, he felt something in his hamstring so we took him off.

on whether he could be out for a while…
I don’t know. Sometimes he cramps and that’s something that’s been happening for a while because he’s still adapting to the league, to the amount of games every three days. Hopefully it’s nothing major.

on whether David Luiz, Mari or Xhaka will be fit for Chelsea…
Let’s see how they recover. Again, we’ve lost so many players in recent weeks, so many big players. They have a huge effect in the team and it will be great because we have a very difficult game against [Chelsea].

Let’s hope a few of our injured players are able to return on Wednesday as Arsenal desperately need a positive result against Chelsea if we’re to retain any hope of qualifying for Europe next season.

We head to Stamford Bridge sitting ninth in the table, four points adrift of seventh-placed Tottenham, so with just three games remaining we cannot afford to drop any more points.