Leandro Trossard was sent off in the first half of the win over Bayern, giving Arsenal another injury scare.
Asked about his decision to replace Trossard, Mikel Arteta admitted: “I don’t know about Leo. He said he felt something, but obviously we didn’t want to take the risk.”
Arsenal are also likely to be without Gabriel Magalhães, Victor Gökeres, Martin Odegaard, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus due to injury.
With the exception of Gabriel, all of the aforementioned players could return from injury for the game against Chelsea, but that remains a question for the time being. Chelsea are hopeful that Cole Palmer will be able to return against Arsenal after missing most of the season with a groin injury.
The England international also suffered a broken toe in an accident at home and has not played since September.
The Guardian claims the Blues are optimistic about Palmer’s chances of returning against the Gunners after spending much of the season on the sidelines.
“Yes, Cole is wearing the boots,” Maresca admitted ahead of Chelsea’s win over Barcelona. “I don’t know (when he will be back to full fitness), but he will be back soon.
“He’s already on the pitch, he’s already touched the ball. It feels good. At the moment we’re only thinking about tomorrow’s game (against Barcelona).”
“It’s the Champions League game against Barcelona. That’s our focus and then we’ll look at the Arsenal game. I don’t think he’ll be available for those two games, but he’s doing well.”
Chelsea will also be without Romeo Lavia, Levi Colwill and Dario Esgo due to injury for the game against Arsenal.
