Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has confirmed that striker Viktor Gyokeres will miss Tuesday’s Champions League clash away to Slavia Prague after suffering a muscle injury in the Gunners’ 2–0 Premier League win over Burnley last weekend.
Gatekeepers News reports that the Swedish forward was forced off during the match and did not train on Monday, joining Arsenal’s growing list of attacking absentees.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference, Arteta admitted concern over the nature of the injury.
“I am concerned because he hasn’t had many muscular issues and he had to leave the pitch feeling something,” the Arsenal boss said.
“That’s obviously never a good sign, especially for a player that is very, very explosive. So we are digging in a little bit more to understand where we are in terms of the injury, and we’ll announce the moment we know.”
The Spaniard added that Gyokeres will play no part in Tuesday’s encounter.
“He’s definitely not available (to play Slavia). He hasn’t trained today. We need to do some more tests and scans in the next few days to understand the extent of the injury,” Arteta said.
Gyokeres joins Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli, Noni Madueke, and Martin Ødegaard on the sidelines, leaving Arsenal short of attacking options.
Despite the injury setbacks, the Premier League leaders will look to extend their remarkable form — chasing a 10th straight win in all competitions and an eighth consecutive clean sheet. Midfielder Mikel Merino, who replaced Gyokeres against Burnley, is expected to feature from the start in Prague.
Arsenal, who are seeking their first English top-flight title since 2004, currently sit six points clear of Manchester City and seven ahead of Liverpool.
Fixture Congestion Worries
While Arsenal have made a perfect start to their Champions League campaign — winning all three group games so far — Arteta warned that the club’s packed schedule could soon take its toll.
The manager urged the Premier League to reschedule the Gunners’ upcoming fixture against Everton, after the English Football League (EFL) moved their Carabao Cup quarter-final tie with Crystal Palace to December 23.
The change was made to ease Palace’s fixture congestion, but it means both London sides now face playing two matches in three days, with Arsenal also due to meet Everton on December 21.
“Hopefully they will move our Premier League match, because to play two days later doesn’t make any sense,” Arteta said.
“So now we decide the date (for the League Cup match), I am sure they will change the Premier League (match) as well.”
The Arsenal boss again stressed concerns over player welfare.
“We have seven players out, so I don’t know what depth we’re talking about now because we’re missing a lot of players — a lot of front players,” he said.
“If we continue to do that every three days… we want respecting again. What we discussed previously (on player welfare), that in our opinion it’s the most important part.”
