Mikel Arteta says Arsenal are dealing with a sickness bug in the camp as he explained why Benjamin White had to be substituted in the second half of the 2-0 Carabao Cup victory over Leeds United.

The centre-back received medical treatment 10 minutes into the second half and it was decided he couldn’t continue. As the crowd tried to figure out what had happened, his replacement, Calum Chambers, put the Gunners ahead with his first touch.

The Gunners secured safe passage to the quarter-finals of the competition thanks to Eddie Nketiah after the striker took advantage of lax defending by Leeds.

Looking ahead to Arsenal’s trip with Leicester on Saturday, Arteta explained the decision to sub White and provided an update on Pablo Mari, who was due to start.

“There is a bug going on,” said Arteta in his post-game press conference.

“We lost Pablo [Mari] today as well as he wasn’t feeling great. Ben had it as well for the last day or two. He wasn’t feeling great, so we decided to take him off.”

The boss also discussed the absence of Kieran Tierney, absent for a second game in succession, and Martin Odegaard.

“They are both out with two different injuries,” he said. “They tried yesterday but they didn’t feel great. Hopefully in the next few days, they can feel better and be available for Leicester.”

Source: https://arseblog.news/2021/10/arteta-sweating-on-fitness-of-four-players-ahead-of-leicester-clash/