Arsenal have a massive Europa League game with Villarreal on the horizon.
The Emirates Stadium plays host on Thursday as Arsenal look to move into the final of the competition.
But the Spanish side are narrow favourites after winning the first leg 2-1 last Thursday.
Arsenal don’t quite need a miracle to go through but they do need a big slice of luck in regards to injuries – and according to Mikel Arteta, they won’t get it.
The Gunners have had Kieran Tierney and Alexandre Lacazette missing in recent weeks.
Tierney has been one of the club’s best players this season and the former Lyon marksman was bang in form the time of his injury in April.
But Arteta revealed on Sunday afternoon that it’s ‘very unlikely’ the duo will be available for the ‘next few games’ [Football London].
That effectively rules Tierney and Lacazette out of Thursday’s clash against Unai Emery’s men.
And suffice to say some Arsenal fans are devastated over the blow:
This is a massive blow for Arsenal, particularly considering that Arteta revealed last week, before the first leg, that the pair were ‘in contention’ to play some part in the tie.
But it looks like that development was completely inaccurate and now the North Londoners must pray that the players they have available – like Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, Nicolas Pepe and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – can compensate for the loss of Tierney and Lacazette.
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