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Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has spoken to the press regarding the fitness of some of his pivotal players ahead of their clash against Chelsea. The pair of London rivals are set to cross paths at Stamford Bridge in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final on Wednesday.
Mikel Arteta drops fitness update Piero Hincapie, Riccardo Calafiori, Leonardo Trossard and William Saliba
Arteta held his customary press conference on the day before the game, with his side having played in the FA Cup against Portsmouth on Sunday. The Spanish tactician regarding the fitness of the quartet of Piero Hincapie, Riccardo Calafiori, Leondro Trossard, and William Saliba. The Gunners coach disclosed that Hincapie and Clafiori are not available for selection, but Trossard and Saliba can feature in the lineup.
"Yeah, those two [Hincapie and Calafiori] not available yet, and the other doubts that we have are Willy [Saliba] and Leo [Trossard]", he said (via football.london).
Mikel Arteta drops detailed insight on injured players
When grilled about the status of each player, Arteta said that Calafiori is weeks away from featuring while there is uncertainty about Hincapie's return. He also noted that Trossard and Saliba have no serious issues despite their absence from the squad that won 4-1 at Portsmouth.
Title hopes for Mikel Arteta
Mikel Arteta's side locked horns with Chelsea just over six weeks from their meeting at the end of November, which ended in a 1-1 draw. Arsenal will be hopeful of progressing from the two-legged tie to reach the final of the Carabao Cup and possibly secure their first title this season.
Chelsea star forward expresses positivity ahead of Arsenal clash
Chelsea star winger Alejandro Garnacho has expressed his optimism ahead of his team's clash with Arsenal in the Carabao Cup. The Argentina international was seen in action for the Blues as they defeated Charlton Athletic in Liam Rosenior's first game in charge in the FA Cup Third Round.
Garnacho interacted with the club's in-house media, disclosing that the squad has shown its capability against the biggest clubs in the world. He mentioned the league clash with Arsenal from November, where a red card for Moises Caicedo saw the Blues play most of the game a man short.
"We know it's going to be hard, but we already showed to the world that we can beat any team. For example Barcelona, or when we played Arsenal at home with ten players, we showed that we are a fantastic team so we can do it. Of course it's more motivation when you play against a team like this, but we don't really focus on who is the other team. We just focus on us to win the game, and hopefully we can do that", he said (via chelseafc.com).
Alejandro Garnacho's experience of winning the Carabao Cup
Alejandro Garnacho has an experience winning the Carabao Cup, having done so during his stint at Manchester United in 2023. The 21-year-old will aim to repeat the feat this season with the Blues, but they have formidable foes on their path to glory.
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