Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has injury concerns heading into Wednesday’s Premier League match against Manchester United after being forced into substitutions on the weekend
Arsenal head into their Premier League game against Manchester United in red-hot form but could be hindered by injuries on Wednesday.
The Gunners have roared back after the international break, scoring 13 goals in successive wins over Nottingham Forest, Sporting Lisbon and West Ham. With Martin Odegaard back fit and pulling the strings and Bukayo Saka at his very best, Arsenal have moved up to second in the Premier League table.
They host United on Wednesday evening knowing that Ruben Amorim has revitalised an ailing side. Marcus Rashford and Joshua Zirkzee scored twice in their 4-0 thrashing of Everton on Sunday, meaning United should arrive in north London full of confidence.
Amorim and his players could also be buoyed by the injury issues of their opponents, with six Arsenal stars potentially unavailable. The biggest concern for Arsenal is key centre-back Gabriel Magalhaes, who has been substituted in the last two games.
Gabriel has scored in the wins over Sporting and West Ham before being withdrawn. The Brazilian was punched in the head by Lukasz Fabianski to earn a penalty on Saturday, but Mikel Arteta confirmed it was not concussion protocols which forced him off at half-time.
“It was related to the previous injury he had in Lisbon,” he explained. “Obviously, he did great to be part of that but with that result and with the niggle that he’s feeling, we decided to take him off.”
Gabriel has given Arsenal fans hope he could make the starting line-up against United by writing on Instagram: “+3 [points] and we continue fighting together!! Thanks for your support Gunners!! See you on Wednesday!!” alongside a bicep and red heart emoji.
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Whether he plays or not, Arteta has issues in defence, where Takehiro Tomiyasu and Ben White are certain to be unavailable. Tomiyasu has struggled with a knee injury all season while White is out for a few months after picking up a knee injury last month.
Another concern is Riccardo Calafiori, who was replaced by Oleksandr Zinchenko in the 56th minute at West Ham. The Italian has been “dealing with little niggles in the last few weeks” according to Arteta and, given the short turnaround between games, has to be considered a doubt for United.
There are doubts over two midfielders, too, after both Mikel Merino and Thomas Partey missed the West Ham win. “Unfortunately they both picked [up] an injury and the game came too early and they couldn’t be part of the squad,” Arteta said at the time. Merino has a knee problem, while Partey has an unspecified muscle injury.
Arteta is renowned for keeping his cards close to his chest when it comes to injury updates before matches, but he could provide some certainty on the six players listed above when he speaks to the media in his pre-match press conference at 1.30pm on Tuesday.
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