Mikel Arteta has given an injury update on Riccardo Calafiori and Leandro Trossard after the Arsenal pair were forced off injured within the FA Cup victory over Mansfield.
A much-changed Gunners side laboured at times against the side sat 16th in League One but Eberechi Eze’s advantageous strike after 66 minutes was enough to seal a 2-1 victory for the Premier League leaders on the One Call Stadium.
Arteta made eight changes to his starting XI, resting the likes of Declan Rice and Martin Zubimendi with 16-year-olds Max Dowman and Marli Salmon amongst those to come back into the side.
Trossard and Calafiori were among the many few first-team regulars in from the beginning but there was concern for the Belgium international midway through the first-half.
Trossard required treatment on the pitch before being helped to his feet by Arsenal’s medical staff, replaced by Piero Hincapie after 38 minutes.
Calafiori meanwhile lasted until the 76th minute, forced off after appearing to injure his right hamstring. He was replaced by Jaden Dixon as Arsenal hung onto their lead.
Arteta made wholesale changes to his side with the hope of avoiding any more injuries as they proceed to fight on 4 fronts for silverware.
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Speaking on the 2 players post-match, Arteta revealed each were coping with ‘niggles’ but didn’t offer any further details.
‘Each of them, that they had little niggles,’ Arteta told reporters.
‘They weren’t comfortable to proceed. And I knew that this may very well be a possibility, especially within the conditions that we’re playing today. So we needed to take them off.’
Calafiori has only recently returned from a muscle injury that saw him miss 10 games.
Arsenal now have 4 matches before the March international break with Champions League last 16 games against Bayer Leverkusen either side of a house game against Everton within the Premier League.
They then head to Wembley on 22 March for the Carabao Cup final against Manchester City.
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