Tuesday 29 November 2016 16:31, UK
Olivier Giroud and Mathieu Debuchy have been ruled out of Arsenal's EFL Cup clash with Southampton on Wednesday evening through injury.
French striker Giroud suffered a slight groin injury during Sunday's 3-1 win over Bournemouth while compatriot Debuchy lasted just 16 minutes of the match due to a recurrence of a hamstring problem.
Giroud's injury is not thought to be serious but he was kept inside for treatment on Tuesday rather than training with the first team ahead of the quarter-final tie at the Emirates.
But fellow striker Lucas Perez returns to Arsenal's squad for the first time since suffering an ankle injury in the fourth round win against Reading last month.
Debuchy, who returned to the Gunners' starting line-up at the weekend for the first time in a year, must await the results of a scan before learning how long he faces on the sidelines.
"Mathieu has a scan today [Tuesday] but we don't have the results yet," manager Arsene Wenger told the club's website.
"Lucas is in the squad and we'll have a mixture of youth and experience, but still 90 per cent of the first-team squad."
Sunday's victory extended Arsenal's unbeaten run to 19 games and kept them fourth in the Premier League table, three points behind leaders Chelsea.
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