Arsenal added Thomas Partey and Kieran Tierney to an injury list that already includes Takehiro Tomiyasu during their 3-0 defeat to Crystal Palace on Monday, further denting the north London club’s top four chances.
Partey was substituted for Albert Sambi Lokonga in the second half because “he felt something in the same area that he got injured previously”, according to manager Mikel Arteta.
The Ghanaian missed matches against Watford and Liverpool in November due to a groin injury.
Arteta told Sky Sports that Tierney “felt something wrong in his knee” when he returned from international duty with Scotland having played the entirety of both friendlies last week.
The Scotsman will see a specialist on Tuesday but he felt it “wasn’t really positive”.
Fears Tierney could be out for the season have increased after the widely criticised performance of Nuno Tavares. The 22-year-old was hauled off at half-time and replaced by Gabriel Martinelli in a move that pushed midfielder Granit Xhaka to left-back.
Using Xhaka as a temporary full-back arguably cost Arsenal in the Europa League last year and the lack of cover in the position could come back to bite them again with the race for the Champions League qualification hotting up.
With two more key players out of contention the Arsenal faithful want to see Tomiyasu return to the starting line-up after injuries to both calves. His last league game was a 2-1 defeat to Manchester City on New Year’s Day.
More from Football
Tomiyasu played in a 2-0 defeat to Liverpool later in January but aggravated his uninjured calf, so Arteta has been careful not to rush the Japan international back in fear he sustains another injury.
“He was fit in the last one or two weeks but the coach kept me on the team,” team-mate Cedric Soares told Sky Sports on Monday. “So it’s his [Arteta’s] call in the end. I’m not afraid of competition.”
He added: “Now at Arsenal we have two or three options in every position. Normally, the team benefits from it. If you have two players fighting for one position, the level of improvement becomes higher for both. It’s as simple as that.”
Cedric has formerly played left-back for Arsenal so Tomiyasu’s involvement in the squad does not mean reduced game time for the Portuguese player.
from Football | News and analysis from the Premier League and beyond | iNews https://ift.tt/xj9da2R
Post a Comment