Mikel Arteta issues worrying update on Saliba and Tomiyasu Arsenal injuries
Mikel Arteta has provided an update on the injuries of William Saliba and Takehiro Tomiyasu following Arsenal’s loss to Sporting CP in the Europa League round of 16 at Emirates Stadium.
Tomiyasu had to leave the game just nine minutes in after slipping awkwardly while challenging for the ball against Francisco Trincao.
Saliba, on the other hand, was substituted right after Arsenal scored their first goal of the night through Granit Xhaka.
Arteta has now given the latest news on the two players as Arsenal prepare for a crucial Premier League match against Crystal Palace on Sunday, where they will attempt to extend their lead at the top of the table by eight points.
“Tomiyasu looks pretty serious from his reaction straight and what he said to me, but obviously, it’s very early,” the Spaniard said of Tomiyasu in his post-match press conference before going on to add. “Willy, I don’t know, he had some discomfort and could not continue so we had to take him out.”
It is doubtful that Tomiyasu would have been included in the starting lineup for Sunday’s game against Crystal Palace since he has been displaced by Ben White for most of the season.
However, Saliba’s possible absence is a cause for concern since he has been a regular starter in every single one of Arsenal’s Premier League matches this season and has proven himself to be one of the top defenders in the league.
Despite the uncertainty of having both players available for the last match before the international break, Arteta expressed confidence that his team would be able to manage even in the absence of key players, given their past experiences this season.
“We’ve been carrying injuries throughout the season,” he said. “We had Emile out for four months, Jesus for four months, Thomas for a month and a half, Alex for two and half months, Eddie for a month and a half. We had quite a lot of injuries already, but we dealt with them. The disappointment is not going to go away it’s there now. But there’s also clarity. It’s 11 games to go now and we have a final against Crystal Palace. We have to recover and put all the focus there and win.”
Gabriel Jesus, who had been out with a knee injury he sustained during the World Cup, made his first start in four months and there was some good news about his performance.
However, during Thursday night’s match against Sporting, he was substituted at half time.
Arteta explained that this was mainly due to the fact that his team had to use up two of their substitute options in the first half because of injuries to Tomiyasu and Saliba.
“We decided to do that because we had to manage the subs,” he said. “Thank God we did take him out, especially after the two windows that we had to use in the first half. That was the plan. Leo is coming from an injury as well and we knew the game could go to extra time and we had to manage that. He looked OK.”
Mikel Arteta issues worrying update on Saliba and Tomiyasu Arsenal injuries
