Arsenal have been dealt with a fresh injury blow with star players William Saliba and Gabriel Martinelli ruled out of action for their upcoming game with Brighton & Hove Albion in the Carabao Cup. The duo, along with Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice and Riccardo Calafiori, picked up problems in their last Premier League encounter against Crystal Palace, which the Gunners won 1-0 to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League table.
Fresh injury blows for Arsenal
Arsenal are off to a dream start to the 2025-26 campaign as they have won seven out of their first nine matches and are four points clear at the top of the Premier League table. After two months of action in the English top flight, the Gunners are being labelled as favourites to finally bag the league title after years of heartbreak.
However, their journey has been rocked with injuries to several of the first-team stars. Forwards Gabriel Jesus, Kai Havertz and Noni Madueke are currently sidelined with injuries alongside captain Martin Odegaard. On top of that, Arsenal were dealt with fresh blows as five new players have been carrying knocks.
AdvertisementGetty Images SportSaliba and Martinelli ruled out of Carabao Cup clash
Gunners boss Mikel Arteta has now provided an update on all of his players' conditions ahead of the Brighton clash, claiming Saliba and Martinelli have no chance of playing in the cup game. Speaking to reporters, the Spanish coach said: "[Saliba] is out. We are assessing him, but he won’t be involved this match. [Martinelli] looks as well that he is going to be out. We have to, again, do some more tests and see the extent of the injury. But this game is going to be too early for him."
However, Arteta also confirmed that the trio of Saka, Calafiori and Rice are all fit and ready to take the field against the Seagulls on Wednesday night.
Arteta could make wholesale changes to starting lineup
With a hectic schedule either side of the November international break, Arteta is likely to make several changes in the starting lineup and hand game time to other squad members. In defence, Ben White, Cristhian Mosquera and Myles Lewis-Skelly could feature, while Piero Hincapie could be handed his first start. Former Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga could make his second appearance for the Gunners after making his debut against Port Vale last month.
Youth sensation Max Dowman, who has started training with the senior first team, could also be included in the matchday squad after the teenager impressed for Arsenal U19s in Europe and the English youth leagues. Arteta could also consider pushing Mikel Merino to the No.9 role once again, if he plans to rest star forward Viktor Gyokeres.
AFPArsenal backed to win trophies this season
Manchester United legend and pundit Gary Neville backed the Gunners as favourites to win the league title this year and even revealed the points tally they have to achieve to lift their 14th top-flight title. He said on the Gary Neville Podcast: "This has got to be them, hasn't it? This has got to be their year. This is the fourth season on the bounce that I've had them to win the league, but they're not necessarily miles better, they're repeating their levels of consistency, and that's all they're going to have to do this year to win the league. They're not going to have to go and get 100 points, they're not going to have to get even 90 or 95 points to win the league, mid-80s, high 80s will win them this title, and they can do that. I mentioned before about the other teams [being] inconsistent and unreliable, that's not this Arsenal team. They're very reliable. You can trust them. The way in which they defend is fantastic. They're all around each other. They don't concede goals. They've got a threat up front in multiple areas. They've not got a sensational centre-forward, but they've got a battering ram up there as honest as a day's long, and that can work for them. They've got [Eberechi] Eze, they've got so they've got Madueke, Martinelli, [Leandro] Trossard, lots of players who can contribute goals. They've got Rice who can obviously deliver in set-pieces. They've got four fantastic full-backs and three excellent centre-backs."