Arsenal lost 5 players

Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka, Ben White, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus were all absent when Arsenal visited Athletic Bilbao in the Champions League qualifying round on the night of September 16.

Saka and Odegaard both missed Arsenal's opening match in the Champions League this season.

Odegaard suffered a shoulder injury in Arsenal's 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest last weekend. Saka continues to be absent with a hamstring injury he picked up last month. White, Havertz and Jesus are also recovering from injuries.

When asked about Saka's condition, coach Mikel Arteta said: "It's too early to determine exactly when and which week he can return, but he will certainly try to be with the team as soon as possible."

Last season, Arsenal were stopped in the semi-finals by Paris Saint-Germain. The injuries to key players were the reason for the Gunners' collapse in the final stages. Coach Arteta even had to move Mikel Merino into the striker position when Havertz suffered a hamstring injury.

Having spent £250m on eight new players, notably Viktor Gyokeres, Noni Madueke and Martin Zubimendi, Arteta believes Arsenal can go further this season.

"We learned from last season that we are strong enough to compete with everyone," Arteta said. "Besides that, two important factors must always follow. That is having a full squad at important moments in the season and also needing luck with the right decisions at decisive moments."

Arsenal showed that they do well when Saka, Odegaard or Havertz are absent. On September 13, they left a convincing performance with a 3-0 victory over Nottingham Forest. Returning to the Champions League arena, Arsenal are rated higher than Bilbao even though they have to play away.

Source: https://znews.vn/arsenal-mat-5-cau-thu-post1585499.html