Declan Rice a doubt for Arsenal's Champions League second leg as injury list grows
Arsenal had been hoping to take a clean bill of health into their most important week of the season. That is not how it has worked out. Declan Rice skipped the open session at the Emirates on Tuesday, raising fresh doubt over his availability for the Champions League quarter-final second leg with Sporting CP on April 15.
Rice went down awkwardly while attempting a header midway through the second half of Saturday's defeat to Bournemouth, and the decision to keep him out of Tuesday's public training was as much precaution as anything else. Mikel Arteta is due to confirm his availability in the pre-match press conference, but losing the midfielder for a tie this tight would be a serious blow.
An already thin squad
Rice is not the only absentee on Arteta's mind. Jurrien Timber, Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Riccardo Calafiori were all missing from the open session, extending an injury list that has shadowed Arsenal for months. Saka has been sidelined with an ongoing Achilles problem, while Odegaard picked up a knock in the first leg itself that kept him out of Saturday's defeat to Bournemouth.
That leaves Arteta short in the areas where Arsenal have historically hurt opposition the most. Without Saka and Odegaard in the half-spaces, the team has leaned more heavily on Gabriel Martinelli and Kai Havertz, and the first leg in Lisbon was a good example of why that balance has worked.
A 1-0 lead that is not comfortable
Arsenal travelled home from Portugal with a slim advantage after Havertz latched onto a Martinelli delivery in the first minute of stoppage time to settle the first leg. On the balance of play, the Gunners had earned the win. On paper, the aggregate score still leaves Sporting in the tie.
If Rice is passed fit, the shape of the team should look familiar. If he is not, Arteta will almost certainly have to find a way to cover both the holding role and the creative deficit that Odegaard's absence has left behind. Neither option makes Wednesday any easier.
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