Mikel Arteta shares what Declan Rice is now struggling to do as Arsenal star set to miss tomorrow's game
Yesterday at 04:15 PM
Arsenal will hope to bounce back from their disappointing Premier League weekend defeat when they take on Inter Milan in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
The injury-hit Gunners haven’t done as well as they would’ve hoped at this stage of the season, slipping to fifth in the table after some poor league results.
However, Arsenal have been faring better in the Champions League, with two wins and a draw to their name and the possibility of making it three wins in a row.
At the same time, the Gunners will have to take on Inter without one of their main players, as Declan Rice will not travel for the game.
News of his absence broke on Tuesday afternoon, with Fabrizio Romano among those to report that Rice was not travelling to Inter.
Mikel Arteta subsequently spoke about Rice’s absence and revealed what the England international has been struggling to do since the Newcastle game.
READ MORE: What Arsenal did in last-ditch attempt to stop Edu from leaving
Arsenal’s Declan Rice not comfortable with putting his boots on due to foot injury
Arteta, speaking at his pre-match press conference, said Rice picked up an injury at St James’ Park and will now have to be assessed ahead of the Chelsea clash.
“Declan, unfortunately, picked an injury during the match against Newcastle,” said Arteta. “He was able to finish the game but he wasn’t feeling good in the last few days.
“So we’ll have to assess him on Thursday and understand whether he’s going to be fit or not for the weekend.”
Arteta then elaborated on the nature of the injury, saying it’s a foot issue, and revealed that Rice has been struggling to put on and wear his football boots.
“It was a knock,” he said, when pressed on the matter. “So it’s a problem on his foot. And yeah, he wasn’t comfortable to put his boots on. So at the moment he’s not fit.”
Who could replace Rice for Arsenal v Inter?
The likelihood is that Arsenal could opt for a 4-4-2 with Mikel Merino and Thomas Partey in midfield.
The Ghana international played at right-back against Newcastle but Jurrien Timber could take his place there and Oleksandr Zinchenko could feature at left-back.
