Declan Rice and Riccardo Calafiori injury update ahead of Bournemouth vs Arsenal

Declan Rice and Riccardo Calafiori missed the win over Aston Villa in midweek (Picture: Getty)

Mikel Arteta has provided an injury update on Declan Rice and Riccardo Calafiori ahead of Arsenal ’s trip to face Bournemouth in the Premier League on Saturday.

Arsenal made it four league wins in a row in midweek with an emphatic 4-1 win over fellow title contenders Aston Villa.

And the Gunners now have the luxury of a four-point lead at the top of the table after Manchester City’s stalemate draw with Sunderland on Thursday evening.

Arsenal have welcomed back key players in recent gameweeks, most notably Gabriel Magalhaes, who got the opening goal against Villa and resumed his rock-solid partnership with William Saliba in the heart of the Gunners’ defence.

But the league leaders have also been hit with two fresh new injuries over the festive period, with both Rice and Calafiori not featuring in the win over Villa.

Rice’s absence, his first in the league this season, came after he sustained a knee injury in the 2-1 win over Brighton last weekend.

Calafiori, meanwhile, has now missed Arsenal’s last two games after being forced to sit out the game against Brighton when he aggravated a pre-existing injury during the warm-up.

Rice picked up a knee injury against Brighton (Picture: Getty)

Arsenal were hopeful of welcoming both players back for their trip to an out-of Bournemouth, but Arteta confirmed in his pre-match press conference that Calafiori will not recover in time for Saturday evening’s match.