HUGE BLOW : Arsenal could be without six players against PSV as UEFA disciplinary threat looms

HUGE BLOW : Arsenal could be without six players against PSV as UEFA disciplinary threat looms

Latest Arsenal news as Mikel Arteta and Co. prepare to face PSV Eindhoven in the last-16 of the Champions League

Arsenal could be without six players for the game against PSV (Image: Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC

Arsenal will be without several players when they take on PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League this week.

The Gunners take on the Eredivisie giants in the first leg of their last-16 tie on Tuesday night. Arsenal will make the trip to Eindhoven as they aim to take a lead to the return fixture at the Emirates Stadium next week.

Mikel Arteta has been forced to cope with a number of key players on the sidelines due to injury throughout the season, and it will be no different when Arsenal face PSV this week. As many as five first-team players are expected to be ruled out for the Champions League clash in midweek.

Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli are continuing their return from long-term hamstring injuries. Saka underwent successful surgery in December while Martinelli has been sidelined since early February.

Neither of the duo are expected to be available to face PSV, with Arteta likely to be asked about the pair’s recovery ahead of the clash against PSV. Meanwhile, Kai Havertz (hamstring), Gabriel Jesus (ACL) and Takehiro Tomiyasu (knee) are all ruled out for the rest of the season with their respective injuries.

Myes Lewis-Skelly missed the draw with Nottingham Forest in the Premier League after picking up a red card in the defeat to West Ham last month. Due to the sending off being in the top flight and for denying a goalscoring opportunity, Lewis-Skelly was handed a one-match ban, which was only served in the Premier League.

As a result, Lewis-Skelly will be available to Arteta for Arsenal’s clash against PSV in the Champions League. Riccardo Calafiori started at left-back in place of the 18-year-old in the draw at the City Ground last week.

Arsenal also have one player who is at risk of being handed a suspension in the Champions League. Raheem Sterling has been handed two yellow cards in the competition so far, meaning one more would result in a one-match ban in the competition.

Players who receive three bookings that do not result in a red card are handed a one-match suspension, with the threshold not being lifted until the end of the quarter-final stage.

As a result, Sterling will hope not to get handed a yellow card across the two legs against PSV and the possibility of a last-eight tie – Martinelli is also on two yellow cards, but is unlikely to feature in either of the two legs against Eindhoven.