Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp have both pulled out of Saturday's Arsenal Legends match, ending hopes of seeing the two club greats reunited on the pitch.
Both players had originally agreed to play in the game against Milan Glorie at the Emirates Stadium, but Arsenal said on Tuesday that neither can take part.
Henry recently became an assistant coach for Belgium's national team and will be on duty during the international break.
Arsenal did not give a reason for the absence of Bergkamp, who is an assistant coach at Ajax.
"Sadly I will be unable to play in the Arsenal legends game due to my new commitments with the Belgium national team," Henry said in a statement on the club's website.
"I was looking forward to being reunited with the Arsenal fans, old friends and of course helping raise money for a worthwhile cause. I wish the boys every success and hope the team can secure a victory in my absence!"
Henry took the Belgium job after leaving his role working with the under-18s at the Arsenal academy when Arsene Wenger ruled he could not combine that with being a TV pundit for Sky Sports.
The legends game is being held to raise money for The Arsenal Foundation's charity work, and will still feature a host of former club greats.
The confirmed squad for the game includes goalkeeper David Seaman, Martin Keown, Emmanuel Petit, Robert Pires, Freddie Ljungberg, Sylvain Wiltord and Kanu.
"To play in front of the Arsenal fans once again will be amazing," Pires said. "Playing alongside some of my old teammates against a team of Milan legends will be very emotional."
The Milan team, which will be coached by Fabio Capello, includes the likes of Paolo Maldini, Alessandro Costacurta, Paolo Di Canio, Edgar Davids, Massimo Ambrosini and Christian Vieri.