Arsenal duo Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka have both pulled out of the November international break, with England’s official website confirming the news.
England writes that Rice and Saka are unavailable for the upcoming Nations League fixtures, along with former Gunner Aaron Ramsdale.
Trent Alexander-Arnold, Levi Colwill, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, and Cole Palmer have also pulled out.
Rice and Saka both played against Chelsea at the weekend, but Rice was withdrawn after 71 minutes, and Saka after 80. As two of Arsenal’s key players, ideally they’d have completed the match, but that ultimately wasn’t possible.
Speaking after the game, Mikel Arteta strongly suggested he didn’t expect either player to be involved with England.
“Two players that have just come off? I don’t expect them to be fit, because if they were, they wouldn’t have come off,” Arteta said.
“It doesn’t look good because two players of that importance tell you that they cannot continue in the game, so it obviously isn’t good news.”
We’ll have to wait for an update on Saka, but Rice’s issue is reportedly a broken toe. The midfielder has been playing through the pain, but hopefully he can now use the international break to give his feet a rest.
Arsenal are next in action in just 11 days, facing Nottingham Forest at the Emirates Stadium.
