Arsenal undergo contemporary damage scare as Arteta faces choice headache for Reds

Arsenal’s injury woes have deepened after Riccardo Calafiori limped off during the clash with Shakhtar Donetsk. The Italian defender, who joined from Bologna in the summer, seemed to injure his knee and was replaced by Myles Lewis-Skelly.

After receiving treatment on the pitch, he walked off with assistance, leaving the Gunners fretting over his condition.

Calafiori lost his footing at the Emirates, resulting in an awkward fall that bent his knee painfully. This incident adds to Mikel Arteta’s defensive headaches, with William Saliba suspended for the upcoming Liverpool game following a red card against Bournemouth, Jurrien Timber out injured and missing the Tuesday Champions League match, and Takehiro Tomiyasu also sidelined.

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The north Londoners are anxiously awaiting updates on star player Bukayo Saka, who sat out a second game in a row and is battling to be ready for the Reds. When quizzed about Saka’s chances ahead of the Shakhtar game, Arteta gave little away, saying: “At the moment I’m not very helpful. Let’s see,” and added, “We still have a few days.”

To compound Arsenal’s problems, skipper Martin Odegaard remains unavailable, although reports suggest he is ‘progressing well’ since his early September absence, reports the Mirror.

Ahead of a disappointing result against Bournemouth, Mikel Arteta dished on the recovery progress: “Next week will be a different story, but again, in that later stage of rehab where he is at the moment, because he’s doing already a lot of the stuff, he needs to clear some markers, he needs to clear certain things, he needs to be comfortable doing things especially with the ball. I think next week will be crucial to understand how close he is.”

Meanwhile, Liverpool gaffer Arne Slot was left scratching his head over Diogo Jota’s injury timeline after the forward was sidelined following a clash against Chelsea. “It is difficult to judge at this moment of time to see how long it is going to take,” Slot explained uncertainly.

“Ribs? He felt somewhere over here, it is bruised I think, so we’ll have to see how long it is going to take.”