Arsenal, Leicester City, Watford Hardest Hit As Premier League Clubs Lose Players To Afcon 2021

AFCON 2021 is taking place from January 9 to February 6. Premier League players can miss up to a month of club soccer. The tournament is being hosted in Cameroon, with six venues across five cities. CLICK HERE for all the latest AFCON 2021 news and more.

A total of 16 of 20 Premier League clubs are experiencing a thinner squad for the coming month as players depart to compete in AFCON. Arsenal, Leicester City, and Watford will be the hardest hit, all losing four players each. Leeds United, Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle United and Norwich City are the only four teams that will not be impacted.

Arsenal have six players in the AFCON squad for the tournament. Arsenal are represented by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Mohamed Elneny, Thomas Partey, Nicolas Pepe, Bertrand Traore and Wilfried Zaha. Manchester City have Riyad Mahrez, Yaya Toure, Raheem Sterling, Sergio Aguero, Sergio Aguero and Luke Shaw.

Ivory Coast and Nigeria have the most Premier League players on the squad. Senegal has a total of five EPL players on the roster. Watford opted not to release Ismaila Sarr despite being required to based on FIFA rules. West Ham have two players on the AFCON squad.