Why Myles Lewis-Skelly missed Arsenal’s Champions League clash with Dinamo Zagreb in bold call

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Arsenal star Myles Lewis-Skelly is absent from the matchday squad to take on Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League.

The Gunners welcome the Croatian outfit to the Emirates Stadium, with the hope of earning a victory that would put them one step closer to a top-eight finish.

It would hand a boost to Mikel Arteta in removing the need to play a two-legged play-off, creating a free week in mid-February.

Arsenal have work to do though, knowing they need two wins over both Dinamo Zagreb and Girona to guarantee that place in the Champions League.

The absence of Myles Lewis-Skelly was a notable part of the team news though, following his recent performances.

• READ MORE: Arsenal immediately reject approach for £20m star who Mikel Arteta wants to keep at the Emirates

Reason why Myles Lewis-Skelly was missing for Arsenal

With Lewis-Skelly missing from the clash, following some impressive performances, it came as a fresh injury concern.

Mikel Arteta revealed a new problem for the Hale End academy star, telling TNT Sports: “He could not finish the training session yesterday, unfortunately.

“He had an incident, he wasn’t feeling right yesterday so he couldn’t finish the session, the same with Ricci [Calafiori], he could only finish 20 minutes.”

It comes as a new worry, with it remaining to be seen just how serious the issue is for Lewis-Skelly in the weeks ahead.

The youngster has impressed in his breakout season, with hope that his absence isn’t felt for too long this season.

Not least because of the big fixtures coming in both the Champions League and the Premier League.

• READ MORE: Arsenal have finally made ‘contact’ to sign long-term Mikel Arteta transfer target – he’s a striker

Mikel Arteta sends bold transfer message with Arsenal team selection

One of the big messages from Mikel Arteta came in his team selection, with the manager failing to name a full bench.

The substitute options, or lack thereof, has been a clear issue in recent weeks, which has led to calls for Arsenal to enter the transfer market.

With just 11 days remaining in the window, it will be a race against time for the Gunners to land the options they need.

However, whether they can conduct the business that Arteta wants along with the correct prices, ideal targets and the other team accepting a sale, remains to be seen.

Plenty of links continue to rumble in the background, but there is still plenty of work to be done in the week or so left.