Mikel Arteta confirms Declan Rice injury latest in six-man Arsenal update before Brighton

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·3 March 2026

Mikel Arteta confirms Declan Rice injury latest in six-man Arsenal update before Brighton

Good news for Gunners ahead of latest big game in title race

Arsenal hope to have Declan Rice available for their trip to Brighton.

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Rice came off in the second half of the win over Chelsea on Sunday, with Mikel Arteta confirming after the match that the midfielder had asked to be substituted and needed to be assessed.

Arsenal travel to Brighton on Wednesday and Arteta suggested at his pre-match press conference that Rice could recover in time to feature at the Amex Stadium.

The Arsenal manager said: “I hope so. He was much better today. Obviously we haven’t really trained because we only have two days to prepare [for] the game. Hopefully he's going to be better tomorrow.”

Declan Rice asked to be substituted against Chelsea on Sunday

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David Raya is available to face Brighton after dealing with what Arteta described as a "niggle".

The goalkeeper was superb against Chelsea, with his late stop to deny Alejandro Garnacho saving the Gunners from dropping two points.

"David is good,” said Arteta. “Good to go.”

Arteta also revealed Martin Odegaard is still a doubt, having been unavailable against Chelsea due to the knee problem he suffered in the draw with Brentford last month.

Odegaard returned from that injury to come off the bench against Tottenham, but had not fully recovered and Arsenal decided not to risk him against Chelsea.

Arteta said: "We have to wait and see how comfortable he is to do certain actions."

Kai Havertz is a doubt, with the Gunners set to make a late decision on whether he is involved at the Amex.

“He has done a part of the session, so we will have to wait and see whether he’s available and in which condition,” Arteta said.

Ben White remains unavailable, but Max Dowman is now fit and in contention after making his return from an ankle injury with the U21s.

Arsenal are five points clear at the top of the Premier League and travel to Brighton on the same night that title rivals Manchester City host Nottingham Forest.