Chelsea dealt huge team news blow for Arsenal clash | OneFootball

Chelsea's talismanic midfielder Cole Palmer was forced to miss the club's trip to Arsenal's Emirates Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Palmer has endured a prolonged dip in form of late, failing to score or provide an assist in any of his previous ten appearances for the club. Just last weekend, the 22-year-old was presented with a golden opportunity to end his drought with a penalty against Leicester City only to see his low effort tipped past the post.

Chelsea went on to prevail against the Foxes in spite of Palmer's miskick, but the attacking midfielder missed the conclusion of the game. He was spotted storming straight down the tunnel after his substitution which Enzo Maresca later revealed was a result of illness.

However, Palmer had recovered to feature in the second half of Chelsea's Conference League tie against FC Copenhagen on Thursday and Maresca confirmed pre-game that his absence on Sunday was not a result of illness.

Cole Palmer has struggled for form of late / Mike Hewitt/GettyImages

"He's not in the toilet, for sure!" the Chelsea boss told Sky Sports. "He had, as we know, last week some problems [with illness]. And unfortunately yesterday he had a very small problem. We think, after the international break, he will be back with us.

"He had an injury yesterday during the session. It was a very light session. That's why we think it is nothing important. But we wait and the feeling is he will be back after the next international break."

Despite his recent dearth of end product, Palmer still represents a huge miss for the Blues. The Manchester City academy graduate is the club's leading scorer and most prolific assist provider. Of the 53 Premier League goals Chelsea have scored this term, 38% have either been converted or created by Palmer.

Availability is another of the youngster's great strengths. Palmer had started all 28 of Chelsea's previous Premier League fixtures this season. Incidentally, the last time the Blues lined up for a top-flight match without their talisman was their trip to Arsenal's Emirates Stadium last season.

Former manager Mauricio Pochettino had implored his side to "show this is Chelsea Football Club, not Cole Palmer Football Club" ahead of the fixture. The Blues were roundly thumped 5-0.