Arsenal head coach Renée Slegers revealed to the Gooner Fanzine why centre-back Laia Codina has not been involved in the Gunners’ squad for their last three games.

Former Barcelona centre-back Codina has not featured for Arsenal since February, but the Spain international has travelled to Madrid ahead of the Gunners’ Champions League quarter-final first leg against Real.

Asked by the Gooner about Codina’s absence: Slegers said: “She's been managing some minor problems, so that's why. 

“Codi is an important player for us, and she's with us now, she's been on the pitch, so that's great. She's coming back from managing a couple of problems.”

Slegers also revealed that Daphne van Domselaar remains unavailable after suffering a concussion against Liverpool earlier this month, with Lotte Wubben-Moy still sidelined. 

Emily Fox trained with the squad and travelled after limping off against Everton on Friday.

Arsenal played their final group stage game in mid-December but the schedule of the Champions League has meant teams have had to wait until March to begin their knockout campaigns.

“We've been waiting for this game for a long time,” Slegers told the Gooner. 

“But obviously we've been playing a lot of competitive games, and we've been in the here and now and trying to do our best in those competitions, but we're happy that we're finally here again.”