Arsenal could be missing five defenders against Everton after Mikel Arteta update

Arsenal are sweating on the fitness of three defenders ahead of their upcoming clash against Everton.

The Toffees were without a fixture last weekend as Storm Darragh meant that the Merseyside derby against Liverpool had to be postponed. As a result, Sean Dyche's side will have a 10-day period without a game after beating Wolves 4-0 to move clear of five points clear of the Premier League relegation zone.

But Everton face a difficult run of fixtures as they face three of the top flight's best teams in Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City. The Blues make the trip to the former on Saturday, having lost nine of their past 10 trips to the Emirates Stadium.

Everton did earn a 1-0 victory in April 2021 courtesy of a howler from Gunners goalkeeper Bernd Leno. Dyche's men will need a bit of luck on their side yet again but Mikel Arteta's Londoners may well be struggling with injuries.

The Gunners were held to a 1-1 draw against Fulham last weekend having been without key centre-back Gabriel, Riccardo Callafiori and Oleksandr Zinchenko. Arsenal face Monaco in the Champions League on Wednesday but Arteta is unsure if the trio will be available. The Gunners boss said: "I hope (Gabriel, Calafiori and Zinchenko are fit enough to play against Monaco), but it's more a question for the doctors and physios to understand where we are.

“We are missing a lot of players in the backline. The good thing is that whatever we put there they respond. They respond with a good attitude and performance.”

Should Gabriel, Caliafiori and Zinchenko be unavailable then Arsenal could be without a total of five defenders.

Ben White has been ruled out for a prolonged period after having surgery last month. Meanwhile, Takehiro Tomiyasu has managed just six minutes of action this season and is another long-term absentee.