Juventus will be missing at least a few players due to injury and World Cup absences when they travel to Arsenal on Saturday.

Wojciech Szczesny of Juventus FC and Leonardo Bonucci of Juventus FC during the Serie A football match between SSC Napoli and Juventus FC at Diego Armando Maradona stadium in Napoli Italy, September 11th, 2021. Photo Andrea Staccioli / Insidefoto
Wojciech Szczesny of Juventus FC and Leonardo Bonucci of Juventus FC during the Serie A football match between SSC Napoli and Juventus FC at Diego Armando Maradona stadium in Napoli Italy, September 11th, 2021. Photo Andrea Staccioli / Insidefoto

Gianluca Di Marzio reports that Juventus will be missing Federico Chiesa and Leonardo Bonucci through injury for their match against Arsenal on Saturday.

The likes of Leandro Paredes, Angel Di Maria, and Adrien Rabiot will all be absent due to the World Cup, whilst Dusan Vlahovic is struggling with groin pain.

There there’s Alex Sandro, Bremer, and Danilo, all of Brazil, whose participation at the World Cup is obviously over, but all of whom may still be absent for their post-tournament holidays.

As for Arsenal, we know the Gunners will be missing William Saliba (World Cup) and Gabriel Jesus (injury). It’s likely Emile Smith Rowe will be an injury absentee, and Oleksandr Zinchenko is also a strong doubt.

Other World Cup players may or may not be involved, with Granit Xhaka and Matt Turner the most likely to feature after they were with the squad for the AC Milan friendly.

Gabriel Martinelli and Takehiro Tomiyasu are probably next in line, whilst it’s not clear whether or not Bukayo Saka and Aaron Ramsdale will have returned to training in time.

England's forward #17 Bukayo Saka celebrates scoring his team's third goal during the Qatar 2022 World Cup round of 16 football match between England and Senegal at the Al-Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, north of Doha on December 4, 2022.(Photo by PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images)
England’s Bukayo Saka celebrates scoring his team’s third goal during the Qatar 2022 World Cup round of 16 football match between England and Senegal at the Al-Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, north of Doha on December 4, 2022. (Photo by PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images)

It’s a shame neither side will be able to name a full-strength lineup, as that would’ve been ideal for a preparation match so close to the return of competitive football.

But both clubs have strong enough squads to name a good team all the same, as we’ve seen with Arsenal in the recent friendlies against Lyon and Milan.

Arsenal World Cup schedule (times in GMT)

  • November 13th-November 27th – Time off
  • November 28th – Return to training
  • December 3rd – Arsenal 2-4 Watford (London Colney)
  • December 4th – Travel to Dubai for a warm-weather camp
  • December 8th – Arsenal 3-0 Lyon (Al Maktoum Stadium)
  • December 13th – Arsenal 2-1 Milan (Al Maktoum Stadium)
  • December 14th – Travel back to London
  • December 17th, 18:00 – Arsenal vs Juventus (Emirates Stadium)
  • W/C December 19th – Rumoured 5th friendly (London Colney)
  • December 26th – The Premier League returns