Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta provides the latest injury news after Declan Rice and Cristhian Mosquera were forced off against Brentford
Arsenal star Declan Rice was forced off against Brentford
Arsenal star Declan Rice was forced off against Brentford (Photo by Nigel French/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images)
View Image
Mikel Arteta has provided an update on Arsenal duo Declan Rice and Cristhian Mosquera after both players were forced off with possible injuries in the win against Brentford on Wednesday night.
Mosquera, who was starting at Emirates Stadium with William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes watching on from the sidelines due to injuries of their own, picked up a knock in the first half after landing awkwardly.
Rice, meanwhile, was taken off with seven minutes of normal time remaining with what looked to be tightness in his calf. After the win, which puts Arsenal five points clear at the top of the table, Arteta refused to provide assurances that they will be fine to face Aston Villa on Saturday.
Speaking to the media after the match, Arteta said: "Yes, obviously it's never good news. Declan had to come off. We don't know.
"We have to see tomorrow what he's got. And Mosquera is the other one that is out. Obviously we have big Gabi and Willy out as well. So we have to adapt. It's been a theme of this season. But when I look at the players, they haven't been playing much.
"For example, Ben White, the performance that he had on Martin that he's been out and he puts 96 minutes under his belt straight away. Noni, the same. Victor is coming and now he's getting some minutes as well. So I'm very pleased to see that."
On Rice, Arteta added: "He could not carry on playing, so we have to wait and see tomorrow what happens. He can walk but he cannot play."
On Mosquera's injury the Spaniard said: "Yeah, we have to wait and see. It's probably part of the knee or ankle, we don't know. He could not really tell us exactly how it was but he wasn't able to continue."
The latest Villa headlines sent straight to your phone
Join our Aston Villa WhatsApp group and get the latest breaking news, interviews and opinion sent straight to your phone, plus matchday team news and live updates of all the action. Just click on this link and select ‘Join Community’ to get started. The only proviso is that you must have WhatsApp on your phone to participate. It's a free service. No one will be able to see your personal information and you will only receive messages from our Villa writers.
We will not spam your WhatsApp feed with constant messages, but you will receive updates from us daily with the latest Villa news. If you later decide to opt out, just go to the name at the top of your screen and click 'Exit Group'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. Click here to read our Privacy Notice