Arsenal star ‘ignores Mikel Arteta request’ after receiving passionate message

Riccardo Calafiori is a doubt for Italy’s World Cup qualifier against Moldova on Thursday due to a hip injury, with the Arsenal defender reportedly training away from the main squad

Riccardo Calafiori has reportedly ‘snubbed’ Arsenal’s request to stay in London over the international break. The 23-year-old has been a key player for Mikel Arteta’s title-chasing side this season, having featured in each of their Premier League games this season.

The Gunners are currently leading the pack, with a four-point lead over their closest rivals, Manchester City. Despite dealing with a series of injuries within their ranks, the Gunners have managed to climb to the top of the table.

It’s no surprise that the club were eager not to take any unnecessary risks ahead of a vital run of matches during the winter period. Reports in Italy on Wednesday have described Calafiori, who’s been nursing a hip injury, as a doubt for Thursday evening’s clash against Moldova.

It’s said that the Arsenal defender has been training away from Gennaro Gattuso’s squad. The injury isn’t considered severe, and he could still make an appearance in their clash with Norway this weekend.

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Nonetheless, an article in the Italian newspaper La Repubblica suggests that Arsenal would have preferred Calafiori not to link up with the national team, allowing him ample time to fully recover from his hip injury and sidestep the risk of exacerbating the issue.

However, it’s reported that the Italy manager, Gattuso, and delegation chief, Gianluigi Buffon, have urged their players to keep prioritising the national side and their World Cup qualification battle – even if they’re not fully fit.

This comes from the fact that the Azzurri have missed out on the last two tournaments and may once again face a play-off. Currently, they’re second in their qualifying group behind Norway, with only the top team in each group getting an automatic spot.

The report also states that Italy’s players were given a clear message before the international break: the World Cup must be the priority. This is why Gianluca Scamacca and Sandro Tonali were still called up in September.

Nicolo Barella also joined his teammates on the first day of training, despite being suspended for the Moldova match, while Calafiori reportedly ignored his club’s request to sit out this international break.

Arsenal are currently missing key players like Viktor Gyokeres, Martin Odegaard, Kai Havertz, Gabriel Martinelli, Gabriel Jesus and Noni Madueke due to injury. Arteta will not want to add another big name to that list.

The Gunners have a tough run of fixtures ahead, including clashes with rivals Tottenham, Bayern Munich, and Chelsea. Speaking to club media before the international break, the Arsenal boss looked ahead to the festive period.

Arteta said: “Now we reset with the international break, get the [international] players back nice and healthy, the ones that are not healthy make sure that they get healthy, and we go again.

“We’ll look back at what we’ve done, take all of the positive things that we do, the things that we have the opportunity to improve as well and start to plan what is coming because it’s going to be very demanding.”

The Spaniard added: “They’ve been all over us the last few weeks, and we’re going to need them with us.”

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