Arsenal trained at their base north of London on Tuesday before travelling to Belgium to face Club Brugge in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday.
A convincing 3-1 defeat of Bayern Munich two weeks ago sent the Gunners three points clear at the top of the Champions League table with five wins out of five.
They face a Brugge side who sacked their head coach on Monday after a recent slump in form saw them slip to third in the Belgian top flight and 26th spot in the Champions League table, out of the playoff spots.
Their 2024 title-winning manager, Nicky Haye, has been replaced by the former head coach Ivan Leko, with the Croatian’s first match back in the dugout against Arsenal.
The visitors are struggling with injury, with the first-choice centre-back pairing of William Saliba and Gabriel not having played together for the last five games.
A last-minute Emiliano Buendia goal at Aston Villa on Saturday inflicted a 2-1 defeat on Arteta’s men, just their second league loss of the season, and Manchester City has cut Arsenal’s lead to just two points at the summit of the English Premier League.
Saliba was absent from training on Tuesday, as were Declan Rice and Leandro Trossard, who trained indoors, with an assessment later on Tuesday to determine whether the last two are fit to travel to Belgium.
Source: Africanews
