Arsenal took on Mansfield Town in the FA Cup on Saturday lunchtime with Mikel Arteta hit by an injury concern during the first half
Mikel Arteta was dealt an Arsenal injury concern against Mansfield Town
Mikel Arteta was dealt an Arsenal injury concern against Mansfield Town(Image: (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images))
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Mikel Arteta has been handed a major injury worry with Leandro Trossard forced off in Arsenal's FA Cup fifth round tie against Mansfield Town. The Belgium international went down seven minutes before half-time and received treatment from physios before a decision was made to bring him off and introduce Piero Hincapie.
He appeared to be feeling the top of his left leg and was not moving freely in the lead up to his withdrawal at the One Call Stadium.
That change saw the Gunners revert to a back four having started with Gabriel Martinelli and Noni Madueke as wing-backs while Mosquera was in the middle of a back three.
Riccardo Calafiori subsequently shifted to left-back with Hincapie and Mosquera as the centre-back duo and 16-year-old Marli Salmon on the opposite flank to Arsenal's substitute.
Just minutes on from the injury blow, Arsenal took the lead with Noni Madueke firing in from distance courtesy of a first-time left-footed finish. It was far from a comfortable first half for Arteta's side however, with the Stags going close on a number of occasions.
The pressure from Nigel Clough's side eventually told with half-time substitute Will Evans grabbing the equaliser five minutes into the second period. Eberechi Eze struck soon after though, with Arsenal securing a spot in the FA Cup quarter-finals but Arteta did also lose Riccardo Calafiori to injury.
Losing both the latter and Trossard will arrive as a big blow as Arsenal have four hugely important fixtures this month before the final international break of the season including the Carabao Cup final against Manchester City.
Before then, the north Londoners take on Bayer Leverkusen in a Champions League last-16 tie with Arteta hoping to have William Saliba back for the first leg in Germany.
The French centre-back missed the victory over Brighton after turning his ankle in the previous weekend's triumph over Chelsea. Saliba has already missed games this season because of issues in that area.
William Saliba of Arsenal reacts
William Saliba missed Arsenal's FA Cup clash against Mansfield Town through injury(Image: Getty Images)
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When asked if it was the same ankle as earlier in the season, Arteta said: “No, it’s the other one. We thought the same after the game.
"He wasn’t comfortable to finish the game and after that away he didn’t have a good feeling. So let’s see if he recovers quickly."
Martin Odegaard is the other key Arsenal star currently missing as he continues to be plagued by a knee issue suffered in the 1-1 draw against Brentford last month.
In his latest update earlier this week, Arteta said: "Martin is the other one. Maybe, we will see how comfortable he is in certain actions."
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