Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta can still find positives in his side's performances despite losing a number of key players to injury and suspension over the past few weeks.
The Gunners face a busy schedule with several important squad members ruled out, with goalkeeper David Raya reportedly the latest to join the injury list after picking up a knock in Arsenal's 2-2 draw with Manchester City on Sunday.
Reports suggest that Raya's injury is not currently thought to be serious, but he will nonetheless be rested for Arsenal's League Cup clash with League One side Bolton Wanderers on Wednesday evening.
Mikel Arteta gives injury updates on Oleksandr Zinchenko and Martin Odegaard
Arteta will be without Leandro Trossard when they host Bolton as he serves a suspension automatically meted out for his red card against City.
The Arsenal boss drew a stark comparison between how his side dealt with that dismissal this time around compared with when they shipped five following Granit Xhaka's red card in a 5-0 defeat against City back in 2022.
He said: "It’s normal the way we’ve decided to play. Unfortunately we’ve been in the same situation in the past… one was with Granit Xhaka and we lost how many? 5-0. We’d better learn. If not, I’d be very thick.”
Martin Odegaard is meanwhile out with an ankle injury, summer arrival Mikel Merino has a shoulder injury, and Oleksandr Zinchenko has a calf issue.
Speaking about Zinchenko at his Tuesday morning press conference, the manager said: "He's not ready to play yet and I think he will still be out for a few weeks."
Odegaard also looks set to miss the next four games, with Arteta saying: "It will be a matter of weeks but I still can't guarantee when, I can't tell you more than this. Before the October's international break is unlikely."
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That may represent an improvement on Odegaard's initial prognosis after he was previously reported to be on the shelf until November.
Arteta did however hint that yet more players may have joined the injury list, but was keen not to reveal their identities before facing Bolton.
The Arsenal boss is nonetheless delighted with what he has seen from his available players in the meantime, saying: "I'm extremely proud of what we did at the Etihad. We showed desire, we adapted to different ways of playing, that's superb.
"Happy? No, we wanted to win. But it was difficult, then what we had to deal with and as well with the players we had out... I'm proud."
Arteta particularly picked out defenders William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes for praise after they helped Arsenal concede just three times in their six games in all competitions to date, with four clean sheets along the way.
The Arsenal boss said: "We believed that Saliba & Gabriel could become really good... but their level now is something incredible, unbelievable. That togetherness and chemistry is unique and really good. I'm proud of Gabriel and Saliba, really.”
