Mikel Arteta confirms 3 players are injury doubts for Leicester clash

Arsenal have several fresh injury concerns heading into their Premier League clash against Leicester on Saturday.

The Gunners were in midweek action on Wednesday night as they took on Bolton Wanderers in the third round of the Carabao Cup, dispatching the League One side with aplomb.

Hale End was the big winner of the cup tie as Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly both starred. Mikel Arteta named five full debutants in his starting XI, including four from the academy. Two more made their debuts for the club as substitutes.

The manager was always expected to rotate for Wednesday's game following the chaos of Sunday in Manchester, and injuries to several of Arsenal's senior stars did force his hand.

Mikel Arteta confirms 3 players are injury doubts for Leicester clash

Arsenal have started the season strongly despite having to deal with the absences of multiple first-teamers. Captain Martin Odegaard, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Takehiro Tomiyasu, and new singing Mikel Merino are among those currently sidelined through injury.

And it seems that the 2-2 draw with Manchester City took it out of a few more of Arteta's stars. The boss confirmed that Ben White was carrying a knock heading into Sunday's game and only played the second half as a result.

"He will run through a brick wall for you," Arteta said of White post-match. The defender wasn't included in Wednesday's matchday squad.

Many accused David Raya and Jurrien Timber of contributing to the supposed 'dark arts' Arsenal were attempting to master on Sunday as they collapsed to the Etihad turf wit what cynics regarded as faux injuries. However, Raya has picked up a minor knock, while the muscle cramps Timber was struggling with meant he also missed Wednesday's cup tie.

Arteta, as reported by Harry Symeou, said after the 5-1 win that White, Raya, and Timber are all doubts for this weekend's game against Leicester.

Given Saturday's opponents are a Foxes side that will be fighting against the drop, it's not a contest for risking players. While Raya's been the club's standout performer this season, Neto is an able deputy - even if we haven't seen him in Arsenal colours yet. The boss also has solutions in defence if White nor Timber are deemed fit to feature with a Champions League clash against Paris Saint-Germain upcoming.

While every Premier League fixture is significant when you're trying to beat City to the title, the club's priority over the next week has to be Tuesday's encounter with the French champions.

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