Fresh Arsenal injury blow as key player is ruled out of Inter Milan clash

Arsenal have been dealt a significant blow ahead of their clash with Inter Milan, with Declan Rice ruled out of the Champions League group-stage match through injury.

Rice, 25, played the full 90 minutes of Arsenal’s disappointing 1-0 defeat at Newcastle at the weekend, the midfielder’s ninth appearance in the Premier League this season.

Arsenal’s win at Tottenham remains the only top-flight match in which Rice has not featured, with the England international forced to miss the derby through suspension following his controversial sending off against Brighton.

But Rice was notably absent from training at London Colney this morning and will not join the rest of Mikel Arteta’s squad on board their flight to Milan.

It is unclear what exactly has prevented Rice from travelling to the San Siro but Arteta is likely to provide an update at his pre-match press conference this evening.

According to Fabrizio Romano, Rice has not suffered a serious injury and his omission is simply a ‘precaution’.

It’s claimed the Gunners were reluctant to risk Rice’s fitness and the former West Ham captain will by assessed by the club’s medical staff ahead of this weekend’s meeting with Chelsea.

One saving grace for Arsenal is Martin Odegaard’s impending return to first-team action. The Norway midfielder has been sidelined since the start of September with an ankle injury but there are hopes he could be involved versus Inter.

Odegaard has not played for the Gunners since the side’s 1-1 draw with Brighton in late August and will no doubt be chomping at the bit to make a contribution in Milan.

Unlike Rice, Arsenal’s captain trained as normal today and will travel to Italy with the rest of Arteta’s party.

The north London giants have also been boosted by Gabriel Magalhaes’ comeback at St James’ Park, though defensive duo Riccardo Calafiori and Takehiro Tomiyasu remain sidelined.

Arteta’s men have picked up seven points from a possible nine without conceding a single goal in the Champions League, starting with a goalless draw at Atalanta before wins over PSG and Shakhtar Donetsk.

Arsenal’s hosts, Inter, have also accumulated seven points from their three opening Champions League games and sit seventh in the table.

The Serie A giants started their campaign with a commendable goalless draw away to Manchester City and Simone Inzaghi’s side followed this up with victories over Red Star Belgrade and Young Boys.

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