Arsenal could be missing six players for Kairat clash as Mikel Arteta reveals new double injury blow

Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta has confirmed a fresh double fitness blow for his side ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League clash with Kairat at the Emirates Stadium.

The Gunners will round off what has been a near-flawless league-phase campaign against the Kazakhstani side, whom they lead by a whopping 20 points in the table ahead of the top vs. bottom battle.

Arteta’s men could become the first team to win all eight of their league-phase games since the Champions League switched to its new format, and they will be expected to do so against the tournament debutants, who have drawn one and lost six of their seven matches so far.

However, Arsenal will already be without Declan Rice and Mikel Merino for the clash due to suspension, as the midfielders picked up their third yellow cards of the UCL season in the 3-1 victory over Inter Milan at San Siro last week.

In addition, Riccardo Calafiori (muscle) and Max Dowman (ankle) both sat out the 3-2 defeat to Manchester United in Sunday’s Premier League contest, and the Gunners boss also confirmed in his pre-game press conference that neither Jurrien Timber nor William Saliba would be fit.

Arsenal vs. Kairat: William Saliba, Jurrien Timber ruled out by Mikel Arteta

Neither defender was seen in the open training session on Tuesday, although Arteta customarily did not delve deeper into the exact nature of Saliba and Timber’s fitness woes.

However, the Spaniard suggested that the pair were only suffering from minor problems, and they should be back in the ranks for Saturday’s Premier League showdown with Leeds United.

Asked if Saliba and Timber were fit for the game, Arteta replied: “No, those are not. they have some niggles and it's a good opportunity now that we make a different kind of work with them to get them in the best possible conditions so that we can help them.”

Calafiori was at least seen in full training on Tuesday, but the Italian also took part in team practice before Man Utd only to miss out, so there is no guarantee that he will be part of the matchday squad on Wednesday.

Nevertheless, Arteta will be expected to make sweeping changes for the final league-phase encounter, in which Arsenal only need to take a point to confirm a first-placed finish in the 36-team table over Bayern Munich.

Which fringe Arsenal players could start against Kairat?

With no Saliba and no Timber, Ben White and Cristhian Mosquera are all but guaranteed to start in defence, while Piero Hincapie could very well be shifted into a left centre-back role in place of Gabriel Magalhaes.

Hincapie operating centrally would allow Myles Lewis-Skelly to earn some valuable minutes at full back - potentially in front of number two Kepa Arrizabalaga - while Marli Salmon could also come off the bench for his second UCL appearance of the season.

Midfield shortages mean that Martin Odegaard should keep his place, but Eberechi Eze and Christian Norgaard - who conducted pre-match media duties alongside Arteta - will almost certainly join the captain in the engine room.

Starts can also be expected for Noni Madueke and Gabriel Martinelli out wide, but Arteta faces quite the predicament in the number nine role after placing his faith in Gabriel Jesus from the first whistle against Man Utd.

As Kai Havertz is still being carefully managed, the German may be restricted to minutes as a substitute, so Viktor Gyokeres ought to lead the line against Kairat.