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Arsenal Rocked by ‘Major Injury Blow’ Hours Before Aston Villa Clash
Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice is reportedly set to miss the Gunners’ bout with Aston Villa on Tuesday evening due to a knee injury.
The England international picked up the problem in Arsenal’s 2–1 win over Brighton & Hove Albion at the weekend, a fixture in which he was forced to fill in as an emergency right back. Rice played the full 90 minutes at the Emirates, but a late fitness test puts him on the sidelines for his club’s final match of 2025.
The Athletic report the 26-year-old is “not quite ready” to feature against Aston Villa, prompting Mikel Arteta to leave him out of his squad for the all-important clash. The decision comes from a place of caution; Arsenal do not want to risk Rice further aggravating the issue.
The league leaders do not have a return timeline for their standout midfielder yet, but they expect the knee injury to only require a “short-term absence.”
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Rice’s Injury Offset by Major Defensive Boost for Arsenal
Losing Rice against Aston Villa is nothing short of a massive blow for Arteta’s side. The Villans only just handed Arsenal a 2–1 defeat earlier in the month, and now are on their way to the Emirates amid an 11-game winning streak across all competitions.
Any blunder by the Gunners on Tuesday evening could leave the door open for Manchester City to potentially snatch first place with a victory over Sunderland on New Year’s Day.
The good news for Arsenal is that Jurriën Timber is in line to return after missing out against Brighton. Gabriel also logged his first minutes in nearly two months at the weekend, making him a favourite to get the nod alongside William Saliba in central defence.
Ben White and Riccardo Calafiori remain out, while Kai Havertz will hope to finally make Arteta’s squad for the first time since he went down with a knee injury following the opening weekend of the 2025–26 season.
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Amanda Langell is a Sports Illustrated FC freelance writer and editor. Born and raised in New York City, her first loves were the Yankees, the Rangers and Broadway before Real Madrid took over her life. Had it not been for her brother’s obsession with Cristiano Ronaldo, she would have never lived through so many magical Champions League nights 3,600 miles away from the Bernabéu. When she’s not consumed by Spanish and European soccer, she’s traveling, reading or losing her voice at a concert.