Arsenal will aim to recover from their recent Carabao Cup final defeat as Mikel Arteta’s team comes together once more following the international break. Concerns, however, linger over the fitness of key players Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka, causing some unease among their supporters.

Both Rice and Saka had initially joined England’s national team for their international duties. However, they were forced to withdraw from the squad prior to England’s friendly match against Japan at Wembley Stadium.

England manager Thomas Tuchel commented on the situation, noting the unusually high number of Arsenal players—11 in total—who had to pull out from national team duties. While he acknowledged that this might seem “suspicious,” he emphasized that Rice and Saka were indeed too injured to participate in Tuesday night’s game at Wembley.

Tuchel remarked, “I’m not sure if it’s appropriate to disclose the specifics of their injuries,” expressing concern over Arsenal’s potential dissatisfaction with such disclosures. “Declan has been dealing with some discomfort for a while and has been playing despite it, reaching a point where it became too much. It’s a similar case with Bukayo.”

He further explained, “Bukayo played through pain during the Carabao Cup final, and it was evident that he couldn’t impact the game against Manchester City as much as he would have liked for his club.”

Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka withdrawals from the England squad will worry Arsenal fans, with Thomas Tuchel suggesting the pair were ’70 per cent’ fit

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta could have a major selection headache heading into the quarter-finals of the FA Cup and Champions League

‘He played in pain through the Carabao final and we could see that he had not the same impact that he wishes to have for his club against Man City.

‘You can see it and he confirmed it straight away. He tried with treatment in the three days to get rid of it and be ready but it’s just too much of pain.’

A further blow for Arsenal is the loss of Noni Madueke, who has deputised on the right flank for Saka at times this season, with the winger expected to be out for ‘some weeks’ following an injury sustained against Uruguay.

Should Saka be unavailable, Arteta will have to assess his options as he bids to keep Arsenal’s Treble challenge on course.

His likeliest option would be to shift Gabriel Martinelli from the left flank over the right, having done so on four occasions so far this season.

Martinelli scored and assisted from the right when he came off the bench in a 2-0 Champions League win over Athletic Club in September. He also found the net as the Gunners beat Olympiakos by the same score in October.

In the Premier League, Martinelli contributed with assists against Leeds and Sunderland from the right after coming off the bench.

An alternative option would be a bold one, as Arteta could opt to throw 16-year-old Max Dowman into the mix. 

Gabriel Martinelli has contributed goals and assists from the right flank this season and may have to do so again with Saka a doubt and Noni Madueke injured

Teenage star Max Dowman would be another potential option for Arteta out on the right flank

Dowman grabbed the headlines by becoming the Premier League’s youngest scorer when he netted the clinching goal in their 2-0 home win over Everton, with his cross also proving key in the build-up to their opener.

Despite the hype growing, Dowman has been restricted to seven appearances for the senior team this season – largely due to an ankle injury. Only two of those have come as starts – one in the Carabao Cup at home to Brighton and the other against Mansfield Town in the FA Cup.

Arteta notably did not turn to Dowman in the Carabao Cup final loss by Man City, so the smart money would be on the Spaniard going with Martinelli from the start if Saka is unavailable.

The potential loss of Rice would be another headache for Arteta, who has an increasing shortage of options in the centre of midfield. Rice has been a near ever-present in the Gunners’ midfield this season – missing just one of their Premier League matches.

Eberechi Eze, who would have been an option both centrally and out wide, is already expected to be absent for around a month.

Mikel Merino is out for the remainder of the season, while Arsenal are hopeful captain Martin Odegaard could be back shortly after the international break following a knee problem.

The withdrawal of Martin Zubimendi – who has started 30 of Arsenal’s 31 Premier League games – from Spain duty with a knee problem would be an added concern.

It seems certain Arsenal will be lining up against Southampton in their FA Cup quarter-final this weekend with Christian Norgaard in the heart of their midfield.

Absences could allow Myles Lewis-Skelly the chance to operate in a midfield role, having played centrally in the Arsenal academy before breaking into the first team at full back.

Christian Norgaard is likely to be required amid Arsenal’s shortage of midfield options

Kai Havertz will likely have to shoulder the creative burden behind Viktor Gyokeres

The creative burden would likely fall on Kai Havertz, who has typically operated from a withdrawn role behind Viktor Gyokeres since his return from injury.

Havertz has contributed just three goals and two assists in 14 appearances for Arsenal so far this season.

The German earned valuable minutes during the international break, which included scoring against Ghana in a 2-1 win on Monday night.

Should Arsenal’s injury doubts emerge as more serious problems, Havertz will likely be required to shoulder a heavy burden between now and the end of the season.