Mikel Arteta is facing several injury issues in the coming games as Arsenal look to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League table.
The Gunners opened up a four-point lead over second-placed Bournemouth with a 1-0 win against Crystal Palace on Sunday, although the ending of the game felt bittersweet for the north Londoners.
That’s because they walked away from the all-London Emirates clash with four injury concerns. Despite Eberechi Eze putting his old club to the sword with his first-ever Arsenal goal, Arteta will be sweating over several key players for their next fixtures.
William Saliba, Declan Rice and Riccardo Calafiori all had to be substituted in the win over the Eagles with different fitness issues. Meanwhile, Gabriel Martinelli finished the game, but was confirmed to have felt discomfort by his manager.
Arsenal Sweating Over Fitness of 4 Players Ahead of Brighton Clash
Arteta didn’t go into detail on Saliba’s injury, but explained there was enough discomfort that the centre-back ‘had to be out after the first half’. Phsyio Scout, an online injury expert, has predicted that the Frenchman should be back in action very soon, stating: “Nothing obvious in-game mechanism suggesting a major injury. Should be a fast recovery.”
Likewise, Rice – who set-up Arsenal’s only goal of the game – isn’t expected to be out any longer than one week. After suffering a knock in the opening 45 minutes, the Englishman limped off in the closing stages. Physio Scout assessed that a calf issue was troubling Rice: “From the footage, it looked like a calf contusion due to contact from a Palace player. It should settle within a week.”
Calafiori was more comfortable as he departed the pitch, and isn’t expected to be absent for too long. It has been suggested that tiredness was the main reason behind his withdrawal: “Again, no clear mechanism on broadcast, which usually means tightness/fatigue rather than structural damage. Walked off okay.”
The biggest concern for the Gunners with fixtures against Brighton and Burnley still to come this week, is Martinelli. Ironically, the only one of the quartet is the player facing the longest spell on the sidelines. Martinelli was a second-half substitute, but could be out for two weeks or more if he has strained his hamstring:
“For wide players this is often early hamstring/adductor tightness from repeated high-speed efforts rather than a major strain. If tightness, less than a week. Strain would be 2+ weeks. Probably the most concerned out of all these players.”