Mikel Arteta says Ricardo Calafiori’s suspected knee injury is “not great news” for Arsenal ahead of Sunday’s Premier League game against Liverpool. Sky Sports.
Arsenal’s hard-fought 1-0 Champions League win over Shakhtar Donetsk at the Emirates was marred when Calafiori was forced off injured in the second half after an awkward fall.
Left-back Calafiori, who is being replaced by teenager Miles Lewis-Skelley, is the latest player on Arsenal’s potential absentee list ahead of their big league game against leaders Liverpool.
Sunday, October 27 at 4:00 p.m
Start: 16:30
“He had to come off because he felt something,” Arteta said of Calafiori after the game. “I don’t know the extent of it, so it’s not great news in that sense.”
Calafiori came off in the second half with a suspected knee injury
Arsenal will be without William Saliba in defense due to suspension following his red card in the defeat at Bournemouth, while Jurien Timber has not played since the start of the month through injury.
Arteta is also unable to call on defensive pairing Takehiro Tomiyasu and Kieran Tierney due to long-term injuries, leaving him with limited options against Liverpool if Calafiori and the Timbers fail to recover in time.
Martin Odegaard is another sidelined, while Bukayo Saka has missed the last two games with hamstring problems picked up against England. His injury status will be the focus of much attention in the coming days.
Arteta did not seem optimistic about Saka’s chances before the game. “I don’t know, he hasn’t been able to train yet, so it’s unlikely,” he said Amazon Prime.
Ben White was sent off at half-time against Shakhtar after picking up a yellow card, with Arteta clarifying after the game that it was only to prevent another relegation for his side and not due to injury.
“It was my decision to bring him out,” Arteta said. “He had a yellow card and we played a lot with 10 men lately. They had a lot of density on that side, a lot of players on that side, so I didn’t want to take any chances there.”
Please use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Sky Sports’ Paul Gilmour and Nick Wright react to Arsenal’s 1-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League, which left Riccardo Calafiori injured.
Arteta: “Tired” Arsenal will fly on Sunday
Arsenal looked “tired” against Shakhtar with their own manager admitting he can hardly get excited ahead of Liverpool’s visit, but he is confident his side will be re-energized by Sunday.
“We played two nights ago with players coming from international countries after flying in from Brazil and many countries,” Arteta said when asked if he was concerned fatigue would affect Liverpool’s game.
“I was expecting a slight decline. And the fact that we put so much in the first half and didn’t go the distance, I think we paid for that a little bit.
“Then we made life more difficult for ourselves because we started giving the ball in the wrong areas and then it was more open. It didn’t help. But we have four days now. Trust me, we will be on Sunday. fly.”
He added: “We will review, have a day off and then two days to prepare for the game. Sunday is a long way off and we’re more than comfortable to be in the right place.”
Arsenal’s upcoming matches
Liverpool (H) – Premier League – Sunday 27 October – Live on Sky Sports
Preston North End (A) – Carabao Cup – Wednesday 30 October – Live on Sky Sports
Newcastle United (A) – Premier League – Saturday, November 2
Inter Milan (A) – UEFA Champions League – Wednesday, November 6
Chelsea (A) – Premier League – Sunday 10 November – Live on Sky Sports
Nottingham Forest (H) – Premier League – Saturday, November 23
Sporting Lisbon (A) – UEFA Champions League – Tuesday, November 26
“West Ham United” (A) – Premier League – Saturday 30 November – Live on Sky Sports
