Mikel Arteta confirms two fresh injury concerns in sextuple Arsenal update before Chelsea semi-final

Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta has issued a worrying sextuple fitness update ahead of Wednesday's EFL Cup semi-final first leg with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

The Gunners make the short trip across the capital following an emphatic 4-1 FA Cup third-round success over Portsmouth, courtesy of a hat-trick from returning winger Gabriel Martinelli.

The Brazilian was one of several players to benefit from inevitable rotation on Arsenal's end, but Arteta is expected to revert to his strongest possible XI for the midweek meeting with Liam Rosenior's crop.

Two players who were nowhere to be seen at the weekend were Belgian attacker Leandro Trossard and French defender William Saliba, although it was understood that the pair were simply rested for the trip to Fratton Park.

However, speaking to reporters in his pre-game press conference, Arteta confirmed that the pair were dealing with unspecified fitness concerns and are not guaranteed to be available on Wednesday night.

Chelsea vs. Arsenal: Leandro Trossard, William Saliba doubtful for Gunners

"The others that we have are Willie [Saliba] and Leo [Trossard]. Those two are a doubt," Arteta said on Trossard and Saliba, who could be two of six Arsenal absentees for the first leg in West London.

Saliba's fellow defenders Piero Hincapie (hamstring) and Riccardo Calafiori also sat out the win over Portsmouth, and Arteta admitted that the pair would not be fit to face Chelsea either.

Arsenal are yet to learn the results of Hincapie's scan, and Arteta also suggested that Calafiori would not be available for clashes with Nottingham Forest, Inter Milan and Manchester United later this month.

"He’s progressing, but we don’t know. I think it will be a matter of a few weeks, probably, but we don’t know exactly when," Arteta said on the Italian, before confirming that he had suffered a muscular injury after weeks of uncertainty.

In addition, ankle victims Max Dowman and Cristhian Mosquera will seemingly not be available for the remainder of the month either, if Arteta's latest update is to be believed.

"[Max] is very similar to [Cristhian] Mosquera as well. Very similar injuries, very similar timeframes and both evolving really well. But they’re not training yet so they’re still a few weeks away," the former midfielder added.

How Arsenal could line up in defence against Chelsea amid injury crisis

Just when Arsenal's defensive injury crisis appears to be easing, all of Calafiori, Hincapie and Saliba could miss the upcoming London derby, although Arteta is never one to be entirely truthful in pre-game press conferences.

It would not be a complete surprise to see Saliba line up at the back on Wednesday, but if the Frenchman does not pass a fitness test, Arteta can go down one of two avenues to replace him.

Christian Norgaard has acted as an auxiliary centre-back this season and could partner Gabriel Magalhaes - as was the case against Portsmouth - allowing one of Jurrien Timber or Ben White to start at right-back.

Alternatively, White and Timber could operate together - one starting centrally and the other out wide - while Myles Lewis-Skelly should be a shoo-in on the left-hand side of the backline.