Arsenal team news update: Striker one of 4 players to miss Rennes trip

Arsenal will be looking to bring home a positive result from the first leg of their Europa League last-16 clash with Rennes in France on Thursday evening.

Ahead of the game, the club have issued a full team news and injury update on Arsenal.com and it’s safe to say the squad is in pretty good health as we head in to a pivotal period in the 2018/19 campaign.

Unfortunately, Alexandre Lacazette will miss the trip to Rennes tomorrow due to suspension after receiving a needless red card during the closing stages of our last-32 first leg defeat to BATE Borisov.

The Frenchman was handed a three-match ban after throwing an elbow in the direction of a BATE player and having missed the second leg win over the Belarusian champions last month, Lacazette will now sit out both legs against Rennes which will be a big blow.

However, otherwise Unai Emery has no fresh concerns to worry about as the likes of Sead Kolasinac, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Laurent Koscielny and Alex Iwobi have all shaken off minor problems to return to action in recent games.

Obviously Hector Bellerin remains unavailable for selection as he’s still undergoing his rehabilitation from a knee ligament injury while Danny Welbeck is also unlikely to play again this season due to a broken ankle that he suffered back in November.

With Rob Holding also on the sidelines with a knee ligament injury that he picked up in December, it means Arsenal will be without four players for the Europa League clash in Rennes tomorrow evening.

The team news update on Arsenal.com said:

Alex Lacazette
Suspended following red card against BATE Borisov (a).

Hector Bellerin
Left knee. Recovering after surgery.

Rob Holding
Left knee. Recovering after surgery.

Danny Welbeck
Right ankle. Recovering after surgery.

It will be interesting to see what kind of team Emery puts out against Rennes as we have a huge Premier League clash with Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday afternoon which could very-well determine our chances of finishing in the top four.

However, Emery has taken the Europa League seriously in the knockout stages and it’s another realistic way for us to qualify for the Champions League next season so I think the Arsenal boss will field a strong side on Thursday evening.