Arsenal will be without Piero Hincapié and Martín Zubimendi for Tuesday’s Champions League game at home to Lille after both players suffered ankle injuries during the warm-down that followed Saturday’s 2-1 Premier League win over Leeds. The pair are due to have scans on Monday to determine the extent of the damage, and Mikel Arteta said Hincapié’s problem “looks a little bit more serious”.
The Arsenal manager made no attempt to hide his frustration at losing two players in what should have been a routine post-match session. “We had a training session planned after the game for the players,” Arteta said. “They didn’t have enough minutes to get everybody in the right rhythm and in two very unfortunate actions, we lost two players.”
Arteta described the situation as “far from ideal” but dismissed the suggestion that he would change the club’s approach to post-match work. Players who are not getting minutes, he argued, cannot be expected to make an impact when called upon. “That could happen at the Emirates; it never happened in the seven years I was here,” he said. “It could happen the next day in the training session, and that has happened before, and hopefully it happens now and doesn’t happen again. What can you do? If I knew I had a crystal ball clear, I’d say: ‘Guys, go in the Jacuzzi, everybody, I’ll see you tomorrow.'”
The timing is particularly awkward because both players had been expected to feature against Lille, neither having started a Premier League match this season. Arteta also appeared unhappy with Illan Meslier and his staff after the reserve goalkeeper carried Hincapié off the pitch on his back rather than waiting for a stretcher, but he declined to expand on it. “Today they’re going to have a further scan and probably tomorrow we’ll know more and then we’ll see how they’re going to go,” he said. “Piero’s one looks a little bit more serious, I think, but we’ll have to wait and see.”
There was a more encouraging update on William Saliba, who has resumed training on his own as he recovers from a back injury sustained at the World Cup. Arteta would not be drawn on when the France defender might return and is determined not to rush him back. “We’re still talking about weeks,” he said.
Gabriel Magalhães is likely to be partnered by Ezri Konsa again in defence on Tuesday. The Brazil defender, meanwhile, insisted he would not hesitate to take another penalty in a shootout despite missing the crucial spot kick in the Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain. “I was sad, and I didn’t want to miss a penalty, but I have learned from this and if I have another opportunity, I will be ready to take it,” he said.