Arsenal have several selection issues ahead of their UEFA Champions League clash at Club Brugge on Wednesday night. On Saturday, Gunners boss Mikel Arteta provided injury/fitness updates on forward Leandro Trossard (calf/shin/heel) and Cristhian Mosquera (ankle), with the latter now ruled out until well into 2026.
“He’s going to be out for weeks,” Arteta said of Mosquera. “Unfortunately, it’s much more than what we expected. But the player was feeling it, so he’s going to be out for weeks.”
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Kickoff: 8pm BST, Wed. Dec. 10, Jan Breydel Stadium, Bruges, UK
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The situation with Trossard with much more vague, and his return is TBD at this time. Said Arteta this weekend: “He was really good. We knew he was another player coming back from injury, and he started to feel it again, so we had to take him off.”
Meanwhile French central defender William Saliba is hoping to shake off a knock in time to be fit enough to feature in this one.
Elsewhere Riccardo Calafiori’s suspension for accruing five yellow cards this season only applies domestically, so he is eligible to feature in the Champions League.
And then finally, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Magalhaes are moving closer towards availability for selection, but it won’t be happening at any point this week.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, RG.org and Ratings.org. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and the Washington Post.