Arsenal have issued an update on the fitness of Pablo Mari and Kieran Tierney, ahead of tonight's Premier League fixture against Crystal Palace.
The duo have been integral to helping Mikel Arteta's side turn their season around, playing every minute of the last four matches in the which the Gunners have conceded just once.
Both were expected to start the Premier League game against Crystal Palace this evening but were surprisingly left out of the squad.
Arsenal have now provided the latest on the severity of their injuries, confirming on their official Twitter account that both have been left out as a precautionary measure.
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Tierney's absence is due to muscle fatigue while Pablo Mari misses out due to a tight calf.
Speaking to Sky Sports before the game, Mikel Arteta revealed that Tierney had been struggling in the build up.
"Well he had some muscle soreness he hasn’t recovered well he wasn’t comfortable to start the game," he said. "And in this period we cannot take the risk."
They have been replaced in the starting line up by Ainsley Maitland-Niles and David Luiz respectively.
There were reports that the Gunners would have to pay Flamengo an extra £900k if Mari started this match as part of the deal that brought the Spaniard to the Emirates although this is not thought to be the reason for his absence.
He could have been replaced by Gabriel after the Brazilian returned from his COVID-19 induced absence, but Mikel Arteta opted to start David Luiz at left centre back instead.
Tierney is replaced by Maitland-Niles who is more of an obvious pick after Sead Kolasinac left on loan to join Schalke for the remainder of the month.
You can follow all the action from Arsenal vs Crystal Palace with football.london 's live blog here.
