Declan Rice suspension fear grows for Arsenal after new Champions League ban

Arsenal have lost Martin Zubimendi for their next Champions League matchagainst Slavia Praha. The rather soft yellow card picked up in the 4-0 win over Atletico Madrid was the Spaniard’s third of the league phase in the first three matches of the competition so far.

The official UEFA website explains the rules: "From the first match in the league phase, players and team officials are suspended for the next competition match after three cautions, that did not result in a red card."

This will come as a blow, but it has been pointed out that this guarantees Arsenal will welcome the midfielder back when Bayern Munich come to the Emirates Stadium at the end of November. The same cannot be said for one other player, however.

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Declan Rice managed to avoid a third yellow card in the clash with Atletico; however, this has created an element of jeopardy. Some fans suggested jokingly that, similar to Jose Mourinho, Xabi Alonso and Sergio Ramos at Real Madrid many years ago, tactically Zubimendi and Rice could get yellows to miss the next match and return for Bayern.

That simply is not the way, however, and it should be pointed out that all those involved in the controversy in 2010 received punishment. Rice will have to be careful in Prague, or Mikel Arteta could choose to leave him out entirely.

Therefore, Christian Norgaard could be given the nod in the number six role in place of Zubimendi, while Mikel Merino moves into the left eight position, Eberechi Eze remaining in the ten. This is one option, but it would leave Arsenal with quite a drop from their typical starters.

But this is why the club invested so much in the summer to add depth to the squad and the group. The nightmare scenario is Rice plays and finds himself getting booked and misses Vincent Kompany’s side coming to north London.

There is already a lot of talk about the clash despite it being more than a month away. Arsenal and Bayern are arguably the two best sides in Europe at the moment, and Arteta will want every one of his best options available for the battle.