Arsenal’s preparations for a pivotal week of their season have been jeopardised by the sight of five integral players not training on Tuesday.
The Gunners take on Sporting in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Wednesday night before following that up with a Premier League top-of-the-table clash at title rivals Manchester City on Sunday afternoon.
Arsenal’s focus for now is on the Sporting clash but there was cause for concern during Tuesday’s opening training session with Riccardo Calafiori, Martin Odegaard, Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka and Jurrien Timber all not present.
Rice was the only one of the quintet involved in Saturday’s 2-1 Premier League home defeat by Bournemouth, playing the full duration of it.
His absence from their Sobha Realty Training Centre on Tuesday doesn’t mean he is definitively ruled out for Sporting on Wednesday night, but it is a worry.
Calafiori, Odegaard, Saka and Timber have all been missing in recent weeks – with Odegaard (starting) and Calafiori (as a substitute) playing in the 2-1 FA Cup quarter-final loss at Southampton on Easter Saturday.
Despite that doom, there was some good news for Arsenal with Piero Hincapie and Eberechi Eze both pictured in training.
The pair were only deemed fit enough for the bench against Bournemouth – with Eze coming on as a 54th-minute substitute.
MORE TO FOLLOW
