and Real Madrid go into this evening's Champions League quarter-final first-leg sweating over possible suspensions for the return leg in Spain next week.

The two ties meet for the first-leg at the Emirates Stadium tonight with some important players missing. The Gunners are without Gabriel Magalhaes, Riccardo Calafiori, Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus and Takehiro Tomiyasu while Madrid come into the game without Aurelien Tchouameni due to suspension.

Unfortunately, the number of players absent for the return leg could increase depending on whether they receive yellow cards tonight. Declan Rice, Gabriel Martinelli and Jurrien Timber are all on two yellow cards in the competition and a third will force them to serve a one-match suspension.

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Madrid also have a number of suspension worries with

However, as per the UEFA Champions League website, the yellow cards do not carry over past this stage., "all yellow cards expire on completion of the quarter-finals. They are not carried forward to the semi-finals."

That means that players like Mikel Merino, Thomas Partey, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Ben White, David Raya and Jakub Kiwior, who are all on one yellow cards, pick up bookings in the next two games, they won't be suspended for the semi-final - should they make it.

The regulations state that "single yellow cards and pending suspensions are always carried forward to the next stage of the competition," except from completion of the quarter-finals.

It comes as a boost for Arsenal and means if Rice, Martinelli or Timber escape a yellow card tonight in north London, they will no longer be at risk of suspension should they be booked in Madrid.