Mikel Arteta has described Riccardo Califiori’s injury in Arsenal’s 1-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk as a “bit of a worry”.
The Italian defender, who joined the Gunners from Bologna for £42million this summer, went off in the second half at the Emirates on Tuesday night after twisting his knee.
Califiori has started Arsenal’s last seven games in all competitions and adds to an injury list which already contains captain Martin Odegaard and key forward Bukayo Saka, with fellow defender Jurrien Timber also out.
“He felt something, he could not continue playing,” Arteta said of Calafiori.
“I don’t know the extent of it so in that sense not great news. It is a bit of a worry.”
Arsenal, currently third in the Premier League, face Premier League leaders Liverpool in a huge clash on Sunday.
Arteta will also be without suspended defender William Saliba, with Takehiro Tomiyasu and Kieran Tierney adding to Arsenal’s injury problems with long-term issues.
Ben White was withdrawn at half-time of Tuesday’s victory, but the Gunners boss insisted that was due to the defender picking up a yellow card.
“It was my decision to take him out,” said Arteta. “He had a yellow card and we’ve played enough with 10 men in recent periods. 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.”
💬 “For the goal, for the performance, he looked really sharp.”
The boss reserved special praise for Gabriel Martinelli after his match-winning display
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) October 22, 2024
Arteta: On Sunday we will be flying
Arsenal were far from their best in the 1-0 win, secured through goalkeeper Dmytro Riznyk’s own goal, but Arteta suggested his players were “tired” and insisted they will re-energised once the Liverpool game comes around.
“We played two nights ago with players coming from internationals after flying from Brazil and many countries,” said Arteta.
“I was expecting a bit of a drop off. And the fact that we put so much in the first half and didn’t get the distance in terms of the scoreline, I think we paid a bit for that.
“Then we made life more difficult for us because we started give the ball away in not the right areas and then it was more open. That didn’t help. But we have now four days. Believe me, come Sunday we’ll be flying.”
He added: “We’ll review, have a day off, then two days to prepare the game. Sunday is far and we are more than comfortable that we’ll be in the right place.”
