Arsenal could be missing EIGHT players for the derby against Tottenham this weekend.

The Sun reports Injury prone stars Thomas Partey, Kieran Tierney and Takerhiro Tomiyasu all returned early from international duty while Oleksandr Zinchenko will miss Ukraine's Nations League decider on Tuesday.

Martin Odegaard and Ben White are being closely monitored after struggling with niggles while Emile Smith Rowe and Mohamed Elneny have already been ruled out for Spurs' visit to the Emirates at the weekend.

It leaves Gunners boss Mikel Arteta already sweating over his options less than two months into the season.

And the persistent injury problems are already causing concerns at the club over the depth of their squad and their ability to maintain a title challenge.

It is understood that Arteta asked England not to include centre-half White in their squad for the Nations League games against Italy and Germany because he has been troubled in recent weeks by hip and knee strains.