Injury concerns are piling on Mikel Arteta after Sunday’s Carabao Cup final defeat with two other key players pulling out of international duty.
With captain Martin Odegaard and in-form playmaker Eberechi Eze missing Sunday’s Wembley clash, the Arsenal boss will not be able to afford to be without his front line stars again ahead of the match.
There are hopes that Odegaard, who has missed the last seven games in all competitions, will return in time to compete in the FA Cup quarter-final against Southampton in a fortnight’s time.
But the picture for Eze is less clear, with Arteta revealing after the 2-0 defeat to City that the England star will require further scans on his calf problem next week.
William Lintasa, meanwhile, opted out of the France squad on Sunday due to an ankle injury and his fellow centre-back, Gabriel Magalhaes, will now miss Brazil’s upcoming games against France and Croatia.
The 28-year-old is said to have a knee injury and Arteta hopes the setback is not too serious given his importance to the team.
Leandro Trossard, who has recently had a calf injury, also has two weeks to recover after he withdrew from the Belgium squad ahead of friendlies against the United States and Mexico.
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Arsenal 0-2 Man City – Metro in the Match
Manchester City have secured their first trophy of the season after Arsenal failed to deliver at Wembley.
The quadruple dream is over and the Gunners now have to pick themselves up after suffering a serious setback.
For City, it has revived their campaign after crashing out of the Champions League this week.
Kepa’s gamble backfired spectacularly
Mikel Arteta decided to keep faith in Kepa Arrizabalaga after the Spaniard started every round of the competition ahead of today’s final at Wembley.
Pep Guardiola did the same thing with James Trafford, but it was Arsenal who had to suffer the consequences because they lost one of their best players. From the start of the second half, Kepa continued to control the ball, inviting pressure that would surely overwhelm the Gunners and trigger their downfall.
Raya has been spectacular this season, the best goalkeeper in the Premier League by some margin and in outstanding form. Had he started, Sunday might have been a very different story.
Old Arsenal fears resurfaced
We have seen Arsenal collapse in the past. Failures in the past are often used as a stick to beat them, but everything feels different this season.
A win today will erase any lingering fear of failure again. But defeat at Wembley could be the catalyst for something more grim.
Arsenal are still fighting in three competitions, are in control of the Premier League title race and are well placed to continue their progress in Europe. However, the current impact can change the season. A woeful performance in the second half was as bad as any they have shown this season on a stage where they need to be at their best.
O’Reilly stepped forward
City needed a hero at Wembley and they found a homegrown one. With Phil Foden only coming on as a substitute in stoppage time, left-back O’Reilly was City’s savior with two headers to save their season.
City were fantastic in the second half and eased Arsenal’s concerns, but it was the 21-year-old who set the standard when they needed inspiration.
Tony Mogan, live sports editor
Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice are due to join England next week after being given a week off by Thomas Tuchel, but Ben White has been added to the Three Lions squad, which also includes Noni Madueke, for the first time since his decision to leave the last World Cup in Qatar early following a dispute with the previous regime.
Arsenal will now not return to action until their trip to St Mary’s on April 4 and Arteta will be desperate to see his side bounce back after missing out on the chance to end a six-year trophy drought.
“It’s difficult because everyone as players really wanted it today and I know the fans wanted it,” said the Arsenal boss.
‘The fact that we haven’t managed to make it happen is very, very painful.
“We’ve had an incredible eight months together, and now there’s the international break.
“We’re all going into this with a lot of weight and pain, and we’re going to use that as fuel for the next two months.
‘We kept going. It hurts not to give them what they expect and what they support, but we will recover from that and go again.”
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