Mikel Arteta is facing a number of decisions for the Carabao Cup clash against Bolton in order to avoid more injury issues plaguing his already very stretched squad

Mikel Arteta will have two new players unavailable for the Carabao Cup clash against Bolton following on from a chaotic draw against Manchester City.

The Gunners were denied all three points by a late John Stones equaliser and now have a number of concerns heading into Wednesday’s clash.

David Raya, Jurrien Timber and Riccardo Calafiori all went down on separate occasions in the second half with the trio receiving treatment from physios. Ahead of the cup tie, Arteta was asked for the latest team news and though his answer was understandably coy, he did confirm that one player is a huge doubt.

“Let’s see who is available tomorrow,” he said in his injury update. “Unfortunately, yes there will be a few players not available. We have to wait on one of them. Tomorrow you will find out. As soon as I give the line up.” With Arteta reluctant to give away who could miss out, rather than speculate, it is far more worthwhile to confirm the players definitely absent.

Leandro Trossard, following his red card against Man City, will be suspended for the clash but back available for this weekend’s Premier League fixture against Leicester. Summer loan signing Neto has been denied his debut for the Gunners having already played in the previous round for Bournemouth which makes him cup tied.

As for injuries, Mikel Merino and Martin Odegaard are still out through shoulder and ankle issues, respectively. Arteta was able to offer a positive update on the Norway international’s recovery though, potentially revealing when he may return.

“I think it will be a matter of weeks,” the Arsenal boss admitted. “How long exactly, I cannot tell you We might get a surprise but I think it’s unlikely.”

Oleksandr Zinchenko is another key player missing and that is unlikely to change until after the October international break with Arteta revealing he will remain absent for another few weeks.

In terms of the long-term injury issues, Takehiro Tomiyasu is still yet to feature in this campaign having picked up a knee injury during pre-season. Kieran Tierney meanwhile, is still recovering from the serious hamstring injury he suffered in action for Scotland over the summer at Euro 2024.

With this evening’s clash against lower league opposition, Arteta is expected to tinker with his team. A full starting debut for Raheem Sterling, in place of Bukayo Saka looks likely, with Ethan Nwaneri, Myles Lewis-Skelly among the youngsters pushing for a start.

Elsewhere, fringe players such as Jorginho and Jakub Kiwior will likely come in but exactly who for is unclear. Calafiori and Timber both suffered knocks at the weekend while limited midfield options being fit and available makes it difficult to determine whether either Declan Rice or Thomas Partey will be given a rest.