ARSENAL will be without four key players for an entire month when the African Cup of Nations kicks off.
Captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will be the club’s most notable star with the forward due to represent Gabon.
Auba fired his country to the tournament on Thursday after scoring in the 3-0 win over DR Congo.
Ghanaian ace Thomas Partey will also miss out alongside Nicolas Pepe and Mohamed Elneny.
The AFCON tournament is set to commence on January 9 and go on until February 6 in Cameroon.
It was initially supposed to take place this January but was delayed for a year following the coronavirus pandemic.
Arsenal won’t be the only side to lose out on important players during a crucial part of the season.
Liverpool will be without Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane with the duo representing Egypt and Senegal respectively.
Manchester City are only set to be affected by the loss of Algeria’s Riyad Mahrez who captained his nation to victory in the last tournament.
Neighbours United will lose Eric Bailly while Crystal Palace will be without Jordan Ayew and key man Wilfried Zaha.
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Chelsea will also be without Hakim Ziyech who will represent Morocco.
Previous January tournaments have caused unrest and anger from Prem managers, who have complained at the disruption caused.
Fifa rules say national teams can demand players for up to 14 days before the start of the tournament, although they can come to agreements with individual clubs over release dates.
But the status of the tournament means most African stars will want to play if they are selected and they feel a debt of obligation to their nation and home fans.
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