Mikel Arteta faces nightmare scenario as Arsenal duo at risk of Champions League ban

Arsenal could miss a couple of key players when they face Inter Milan next month if they're not careful on Wednesday night

Declan Rice and Mikel Merino will walk the disciplinary tightrope when Arsenal lock horns with Club Brugge in the UEFA Champions League. The Belgian outfit will host Mikel Arteta's side at the Jan Breydel Stadium on Wednesday night as they each look to return to winning ways.

The Gunners lost 2-1 to Aston Villa at the weekend, dropping three crucial points in the race for the Premier League title. Arsenal could've gone eight points clear at the top of the table, but following defeat at Villa Park and Manchester City's win over Sunderland, they only have a two-point cushion.

Club Brugge also lost on Saturday, slumping to third in the Jupiler Pro League. Sint-Truidense V.V. came from behind to defeat the 19-time champions of Belgium and slash Royale Union Saint-Gilloise's lead in the title race.

Arsenal, the only remaining unbeaten team in the Champions League this season, will certainly fancy their chances – especially after Club Brugge sacked Nicky Hayen on Monday afternoon. Unlike the Gunners, the Belgian outfit have nothing to lose.

On Wednesday night, Rice and Merino will be walking on eggshells. They have each been cautioned twice during the league phase; if they receive a third yellow card, they'll be suspended for one match by UEFA.

The governing body's rules state: "As 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, as well as after any subsequent odd-numbered caution (fifth, seventh, ninth, etc.)."

The accumulation of booking expire upon completion of the quarter-finals, and they're not carried forward to the semi-finals. Arteta will want his full squad available to him when the Gunners face Inter Milan at the San Siro in January.

The Italian giants have enjoyed an excellent start to the campaign, climbing to fourth in the table. The Nerazzurri have won four of their five games, with their only defeat coming to Atletico Madrid in the dying embers of stoppage time.

The following week, Arsenal host Kairat Almaty at the Emirates Stadium and drop the curtain on the league phase. Back in September, Arteta challenged his players to 'change the history of the club' and win the Champions League.

"Well, that tells you, with our long history, how difficult it is because we haven't won it yet, and that's the opportunity," Arteta said when asked about Arsenal's failure to win the Champions League. "That's how I see it.

"But pressure is the opportunity that drives that energy and that willingness to be better every single day. Every decision has to be with that standard and with those expectations, so let's give our best chance to try to do it.

"The big clubs [who have won it], they try seven, eight, nine times and they maybe win two. So in this competition it's going to be one that you fail much more than you succeed.

"That's the nature of it. That's the history of our club and that's what we want to change..."