Arsenal Rice Doubtful For London derby Against Chelsea

Mikel Arteta, the manager of Arsenal, is unsure if Declan Rice, a defensive midfielder, will play in Sunday’s Premier League London derby at Stamford Bridge versus Chelsea.

Although Arteta did not provide any information regarding the injury, British media stated that Rice, a 25-year-old England international, is likely to play against Chelsea despite having a broken toe.

Rice missed Arsenal’s Champions League trip to Inter Milan on Wednesday, which they lost by the same score, after suffering the injury during their 1-0 Premier League loss to Newcastle United the previous weekend.

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“I have to be very vague on that one because there is no clarity, if he is going to be fit or not for the weekend.

“He hasn’t trained yet and it is not clear yet whether he is going to be available,” Arteta told reporters on Friday.

Regarding if captain Martin Odegaard will rejoin the starting lineup, the Spaniard stayed silent.

After missing two months of action due to an ankle injury, the 25-year-old Norwegian midfielder made his San Siro debut off the bench against Inter.

“Everybody that is in the squad will be fit and available to start the game.

“Then it is a decision to see if it is too early,” Arteta said, before discussing the availability of forward Kai Havertz and midfielder Mikel Merino.

“(We have to) wait to see how they react. Kai’s was quite a nasty cut. Mikel wasn’t feeling great and we decided to substitute him at halftime (against Inter).”

After losing to Newcastle, Arsenal dropped to fifth position in the Premier League standings with 18 points from 10 games, five points below second-place Manchester City and seven points behind leaders Liverpool.

Chelsea has a greater goal differential than Arsenal but is tied for fourth place with the same number of points.

Even if Arsenal is in a rut going into the weekend, Arteta doesn’t think they need a makeover.

“I don’t think about that,” Arteta said when asked if another loss would mean the end of their title bid.

“Nobody works harder than me, I guarantee you that. We don’t need a reset.

In one particular aspect we need to go from 95 to 100. I will not tell you what that is.

“It will not require 100 points this season. It will require perfection to keep winning.”


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