Arteta rues Arsenal’s injury list before Carabao Cup semi-final trip to Chelsea
William Saliba did not feature in the FA Cup victory against Portsmouth on Sunday. Photograph: Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC/Getty Images
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William Saliba did not feature in the FA Cup victory against Portsmouth on Sunday. Photograph: Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC/Getty ImagesArsenalArteta rues Arsenal’s injury list before Carabao Cup semi-final trip to Chelsea
Manager hopes to find ‘solution’ to defensive problems
Saliba and Trossard doubts for first leg on Wednesday
Mikel Arteta has acknowledged that Arsenal must overcome their injury problems in defence if they are to maintain their challenge in four competitions. Arteta spoke after revealing that William Saliba is a doubt for the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final against Chelsea on Wednesday.
Saliba and Leandro Trossard did not feature in the FA Cup victory against Portsmouth on Sunday. It was widely thought both had been rested. However, Arteta confirmed on Tuesday that the France defender could miss the game at Stamford Bridge because of an unspecified injury, while Trossard is also a doubt.
Piero Hincapié and Riccardo Calafiori both remain out with groin and muscular injuries respectively, while Cristhian Mosquera continues to make progress on an ankle injury and is not expected to return until next month.
That means Arsenal could once again be forced to field Christian Nørgaard at centre-back against Chelsea after the Denmark midfielder filled that role at Fratton Park. Declan Rice is not expected to deputise at right-back like he did against Brighton last month with Ben White available again.
Asked if defensive injuries could be the issue that undermines Arsenal’s hunt for silverware this season, Arteta said: “Yes, because we have experienced that first of all in the front line and then in the back line. But we are trying to find solutions to protect our players.
“The good thing is that players you ask to play in different positions like Christian for example or Dec, they fulfil their role immediately in a great way and we need to navigate now in the next few weeks through that situation and I’m sure we’ll do that.”
Regarding Nørgaard, who joined from Brentford in the summer but has yet to start a Premier League game, Arteta said: “He is always ready to fulfil any role.”
Saliba has already been out injured twice this season because of an ankle problem he picked up in November that also led to him missing five games in December. Nørgaard and Gabriel Magalhães is the eighth central defensive partnership Arsenal have used this season amid enforced absences.
A 2-0 home defeat in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final against Newcastle last year gave Arsenal a mountain to climb. They were knocked out 4-0 on aggregate by the eventual winners. Arteta is hopeful that his players have learned from that “painful” experience as they attempt to win a first major trophy since the FA Cup in 2020.
“Football gives you another chance,” he said. “We have been really consistent again in this competition and now we have to knock another big team out to be in the final. That is the mission. Hopefully we have learned from last year because it was painful, especially in the manner that the games went, and the amount of chances we missed to go through.
“So this year we want to be better and more efficient. The more you are involved in these kind of games the better because it gives you an edge. It brings the team a different kind of energy and it gives you the sense that the objective is very, very close, and that’s a massive motivation for everybody. We know that we are two games away from playing a final.”
