Arsenal were dealt some bad news ahead of their Champions League quarter-final clash against Real Madrid on Tuesday.
The Spanish giants were sweating on the availability of stars Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Jr, Antonio Rudiger and Dani Ceballos.
Mbappe will be available to face Arsenal this weekGetty And it means Mikel Arteta’s side will have to take on the French superstarGettyHowever, last week it was confirmed that all four key Los Blancos players will be available to face the Gunners.
That was despite Mbappe and Rudiger actually being handed one-match bans by UEFA after an investigation.
Vinicius Junior avoided all punishment, but the other three Real players were all found guilty of breaking conduct rules.
The incidents occurred following their last 16 penalty shootout win over bitter rivals Atletico Madrid.
During celebrations, Rudiger appeared to make a throat-cutting gesture towards the Atleti fans.
Meanwhile, video clips on social media also appeared to show Mbappe grabbing his crotch.
UEFA launched an investigation into them, but they decided not to issue any of those involved with an immediate suspension.
As mentioned, Mbappe and Rudiger have been handed a one-game ban, but that doesn’t come into effect just yet.
It has not been immediately enforced and is subject to a probationary period of one year, so Arsenal will have to face them.
Fines were immediately handed out though, with Rudiger forced to pay €40,000, and Mbappe and Ceballos fined €30,000 and €20,000, respectively.
Rudiger was in hot water for making a throat-cutting gesture to Atletico fansGetty Meanwhile, Vini Jr has avoided punishment completelyGettyUEFA appointed an Ethics and Disciplinary Inspector to inspect how the four players celebrated their penalty shootout win over Atletico.
It came after Atletico reported the players’ conduct to UEFA.
The first leg takes place on Tuesday night at the Emirates, with the second leg taking place at the Bernabeu on April 16.
Alongside the availability of their stars, Real Madrid have also been boosted by the news that Thibaut Courtois is going to be fit.
The Belgian goalkeeper has missed recent Los Blancos’ fixtures, including the three matches played since the international break.
But Ancelotti has confirmed Courtois will be fit to travel to London.
Aside from the team news blows, Arsenal will hope to conquer Real Madrid in order to continue their pursuit of silverware this season.
Eliminated from the FA Cup and with Liverpool running away with the Premier League, the Champions League is the last genuine chance for the Gunners to claim a major trophy.
But Perry Groves believes that being without the injured Gabriel reduces their hopes of winning the tie.
He told talkSPORT: “We all know about this Real Madrid’s attacking talent, but this team concedes goals.
“You only have to look at the match with Real Sociedad where they conceded four.
“I’ve got a lot of mates who live in Spain and before Gabriel got injured the Spanish journalists thought this was a 50-50 tie.
“But without Gabriel, I think we go down to a 25 or 30 per cent chance of beating Real Madrid.”
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