Arsenal will be without left-back Kieran Tierney for Thursday's Europa League clash against Sporting CP.
Tierney, who has been usurped by Oleksandr Zinchenko in Mikel Arteta's preferred starting XI this season, left the club's London Colney training ground about 45 minutes before training began, with some fans fearing he had suffered an injury. However, football.london understands that the Scottish international is merely unwell.
If Arteta wants to rest Zinchenko for the trip to Portugal, the Spaniard may opt to play the ambipedal Takehiro Tomiyasu at left-back, with Ben White then deployed at right-back. Tomiyasu has been utilised on the left flank four times this term, including back in October 2022 against Liverpool, with the Japanese international keeping the prolific Mohamed Salah extremely quiet as the Gunners clinched a 3-2 victory over Jurgen Klopp and co.
READ MORE: Arsenal handed Gabriel Jesus injury boost ahead of Sporting CP as striker returns to training
Forwards Leandro Trossard and Eddie Nketiah also missed Wednesday's training session, making them both huge doubts for the game against Sporting, something that will likely mean Gabriel Martinelli is deployed in a central role. The 21-year-old operated centrally during Saturday's win over Bournemouth when Trossard was forced off with a groin problem.
The early prognosis on Trossard's injury is that it is not thought to be serious, football.london understands, a huge relief to Arsenal boss Arteta. "It is a worry," the Spaniard said of the injury in his post-match press conference after the game against the Cherries.
"He came to me and said 'I cannot continue, I felt something when I was tracking back after the corner'. We had to take him off and we have to assess him and see how he is."
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