Arsenal could be handed a major boost ahead of their Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid, with Kylian Mbappe reportedly among the players ‘at risk of being banned’ by UEFA.
Four players for the European champions are deemed at risk of suspension due to their celebrations after beating Atletico Madrid in the last 16 of the Champions League.
Los Blancos progressed on penalties after winning the first leg 2-1 and the losing the second leg away from home 1-0.
Former Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger scored the decisive penalty and is one of the Real Madrid fearing a ban.
Report confirms that Mbappe, Rudiger, Vinicius Junior and Dani Ceballos could miss their quarter-final against Arsenal.
The Madrid quartet are under investigation over alleged “indecent conduct”, with an “ethics and disciplinary inspector” analysing their actions after beating Atletico on penalties on March 12.
Arsenal will obviously hope Vinicius Jr, Mbappe and Rudiger are unavailable for both legs. They probably want former loan player Ceballos to play, to be fair.
There is no doubt that Madrid will be significantly weaker if those three players are unavailable and ultimately could cost them winning back-to-back Champions Leagues.
Arsenal are also hoping Bukayo Saka will be available for the first leg on April 8 – which is eight days before the second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Saka was pictured in training for the first time since suffering a serious hamstring injury against Crystal Palace in December on Thursday.
It is unclear if the England winger is going through individual training or if he is back into full first-team training.
Either way, Arsenal fans are absolutely delighted to see Saka back on the grass.