Arsenal welcome Liverpool to the Emirates Stadium for the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final on Thursday.
Last week’s encounter ended in a 0-0 draw, despite the Gunners having to play the majority of the match with ten men after Granit Xhaka was sent off in the first half.
Controversy has surrounded Mikel Arteta’s side this week after they successfully managed to get Sunday’s north London derby at Tottenham postponed.
According to a statement released by the Premier League Arsenal were unable to fulfil the fixture because of a 'combination of COVID-19, existing and recent injuries and players on international duty at the Africa Cup of Nations.'
As a result the Gunners will be the fresher of the two sides going into the showdown at the Emirates, Liverpool beat Brentford 3-0 on Sunday and have had less time to prepare.
Arteta defended the club’s decision to seek a postponement in his pre-match press conference ahead of Thursday’s second leg, but offered little in terms of team news.
"I can't and I don't want to because I don't want to give anything away, sorry. He told reporters.
"There are issues and issues that haven't been resolved, but as you can understand I want to keep that to myself."
With that in mind football.london looks at the players he will have to do without against Liverpool.
Emile Smith Rowe, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Martin Odegaard
All three players were absent for the first leg with Smith Rowe nursing a groin problem, whilst Tomiyasu missed out due to a calf injury.
Odegaard missed the trip to Anfield after testing positive for Covid, but was back in training on Wednesday ahead of the clash - but there was no sign of Smith Rowe or Tomiyasu.
It remains to be seen which if any of the trio will be available for Thursday’s clash.
Expected return date: N/A
What Arteta said: "There are three cases that for different reasons haven’t been able to play for us. We are trying to change and raise the level of the players to the best level to compete tomorrow."
Granit Xhaka
The Swiss midfielder is suspended after being sent off in the first leg, he will serve a one match ban.
Expected return date: Burnley (H) January 23
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
The 32-year-old returned to the club after being released from Gabon’s Africa Cup of Nations squad due to suspected heart problems.
Aubameyang won’t be available for selection.
What Arteta said: "He's in London. Now he's going through some examinations because we haven't had any clarity from the Gabon national team about the reasons why he's come back. It's our obligation to make sure he's in a good condition and there's no issues related to that."
Expected return date: N/A
Thomas Partey
The Ghanaian midfielder will return to the club after his country were knocked out of the Africa Cup of Nations at the group stage.
However, he is not expected to be involved against Liverpool but should be in contention to start against Burnley at the weekend.
What Arteta said: “It was a huge disappointment for Tommy obviously. He’s out now so he needs to be fully focused with Arsenal as soon as possible.”
Expected return date: Burnley (H) January 23
Africa Cup of Nations absentees
The following players are representing their countries at the Africa Cup of Nations:
Mohamed Elneny (Egypt)
Nicolas Pepe (Ivory Coast)
