Mikel Arteta’s season gets more complicated by the week as Arsenal start their Carabao Cup journey on Wednesday. Hosting League One outfit Bolton, the game looked the ideal chance on paper to rest and rotate.
That now appears an unlikely privilege for Arteta as he balances injuries and availability with a schedule starting to pick up in intensity. After gruelling back-to-back-to-back away match at Tottenham, Atalanta, and Manchester City, the Arsenal squad has been decimated.
Both through injury and suspension over a tough month for the Gunners, Arteta now doesn’t have as many options as he would like for domestic cup action. Not only will Leandro Trossard be out as he serves a one-match ban for picking up two yellow cards on Sunday at the Etihad Stadium, a host of his teammates could join him on the sidelines.
Mikel Merino, Oleksandr Zinchenko, and Takehiro Tomiyasu are all ruled out with ongoing fitness problems. Captain Martin Odegaard is also facing an extended period out of the side with Arteta not expecting him back until late October at the earliest.
