Arsenal will face Chelsea in the League Cup semi-final first leg on Wednesday and they will be missing key players, especially in defence.
Mikel Arteta revealed that Hincapie’s injury, sustained during last week’s draw with Liverpool, is still being assessed, while Calafiori has been out since last month with a muscle injury. William Saliba and Leandro Trossard are also doubtful for the game.
The absence of Hincapie and Saliba leaves Arsenal with only four senior defenders, including Gabriel Magalhaes, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Ben White, and 16-year-old Marli Salmon. However, Arteta is determined to lead his team to success despite the injury woes.
“We have been really consistent again in the competition and now we have to knock another big team out to be in the final. That’s the mission,” Arteta said. The Arsenal boss is looking for redemption after losing in last season’s semis to Newcastle United.
Arteta is hoping his team can learn from last year’s experience and come out on top this time around. “Hopefully, we learn from last year because it was painful, especially the manner in which the games went and the amount of chances we missed. Hopefully, this year we are better and more efficient.”
Chelsea’s newly-appointed manager Liam Rosenior will be looking to get his team back on track after a tough start to the season. Rosenior believes Chelsea “must win” against Arsenal and fans will be expecting a tough game tomorrow.
