William Saliba will be available for Arsenal’s first leg against Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League last 16, Mikel Arteta has confirmed.
French defender Saliba has missed Arsenal’s last two games with an ankle injury but will return to bolster the Gunners defence for the trip to Germany on Wednesday night.
Fellow centre-back Gabriel Magalhaes is also fit for their first game of what they hope will be a lengthy knockout campaign in Europe’s elite competition, as are midfielder duo Declan Rice and Martin Zubimendi.
But the Gunners will be without their club captain and creative Martin Odegaard, who has been definitely ruled out.
Arteta also says Riccardio Calafiori and Leandro Trossard “are a possibility, we will see tomorrow”, when asked about their fitness.
Arteta: We must show we belong
Arsenal suffered the disappointment of a semi-final exit in this competition last season, Arteta has urged his side to prove they belong at the very top of European football against the Bundesliga outfit.
He said: “I believe so. This is football and you have to show it tomorrow night.
“I know that you have to be so clear what the game is going to demand. You need to perform on the day. Champions League is about the day.
“Within that day, there are moments and you have to be better than the opponent.
“The players certainly have more experience in the competition. When I joined, a big part of the team had never played in this competition.
“That’s obviously something that is necessary, like in any other competition. They understand it better. Now we have to perform.”
