Arsenal are preparing for the second leg of their Champions League quarter final against Real Madrid on Wednesday after the draw with Brentford on the weekend depleted their ranks
After the disappointment of the weekend, it’s all eyes on Real Madrid for Arsenal. The Gunners were held to a 1-1 draw by Brentford at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday evening ahead of the crucial second leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Real.
Liverpool’s 2-1 win over West Ham on Sunday all but confirmed that they will be Premier League champions, with a 13-point gap opened up between first and second. That means that if it wasn’t already the case, Mikel Arteta and his players are all in on the Champions League.
Arsenal hold a 3-0 lead from the first leg last week when Declan Rice curled in two beautiful free-kicks and Mikel Merino found the bottom corner. The Brentford game provided a few worries, with Ben White picking up an injury before kick-off and Jorginho and Thomas Partey being forced off during the game.
Arteta did manage to rest a handful of his key players against the Bees and there is a significant injury update in this Mirror Football round-up.
READ MORE: Gary Neville faces backlash after saying Arsenal have ‘gone backwards’ as star name slammedREAD MORE: Thomas Partey makes Real Madrid admission ahead of crucial moment in Gunners ‘project’
Mixed injury update
Jorginho will miss the Real Madrid tie due to the chest injury he suffered against Brentford, but Partey is expected to be available. Jorginho has undergone checks and X-rays and will miss the Real game, plus at least the next two Premier League games against Ipswich and Crystal Palace – and possibly more.
Jorginho is out of contract at the end of the season – and has been offered a move to Flamengo in his native Brazil – so is entering the final few weeks of his Arsenal career at the age of 33.
Partey was also forced off against Brentford, but is expected to be fit to face Real Madrid. He played at right-back on Saturday, with White also absent and Jurrien Timber rested, but should be able to return to midfield on Wednesday.
Bellingham in bust-up
Real Madrid’s preparations for the game have been rocked by a reported training ground bust-up between Jude Bellingham and Antonio Rudiger. The duo had to be separated during a training session before Real travelled to face Deportivo Alaves in a crucial La Liga match.
Real managed to win the match 1-0, with Eduardo Camavinga scoring early on, but Kylian Mbappe was shown a red card for a reckless challenge.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side are within four points of leaders Barcelona, who they still have to play, but are now focused on the Arsenal game. Bellingham knows they have to be much better in the home leg to even have a chance of overturning the deficit.
“We were nowhere near it,” Bellingham told Amazon Prime. “That’s the fact and Arsenal were really good.”
Neville blasts Gunners
Gary Neville has claimed that Arsenal have “gone backwards” this season ahead of their biggest game of the season. Speaking on NBC Sports, he said: “Arsenal’s league performances have been a big let-down. If Manchester City weren’t going to win the league, Arsenal had to be the team that was there waiting. They’re not. They’re not even on Liverpool’s shoulder.”
Neville earlier suggested that he thought Arsenal were “always trying to be let off the hook” and he singled out the performances of captain Martin Odegaard, claiming he’d endured a “big drop-off” this term.
His comments received some pushback from Robbie Mustoe, who responded: “I wouldn’t agree that they have regressed. I still think they are going to be the second-placed team again for the third season on the trot.”
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