Two Arsenal players were forced off with suspected injuries in their FA Cup win against Mansfield Town on Saturday, and Mikel Arteta has offered an update on the pair
Mikel Arteta
Mikel Arteta's men are in the FA Cup quarter-final after beating Mansfield Town 2-1(Image: Getty Images)
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Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has explained why Riccardo Calafiori and Leandro Trossard were forced to come off in Saturday's 2-1 FA Cup win against Mansfield Town. Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze scored for the Gunners to secure their spot in the quarter-final.
Trossard left the pitch in the 38th minute and was replaced by Piero Hincapie. Calafiori was replaced later in the game by Jaden Dixon after seeming to pick up an injury.
Speaking after the win over the League One side, Arteta provided an immediate update on their condition: "Both of them, they had little niggles," he said. "They were not comfortable to continue.
"And I knew that this could be a possibility, especially in the conditions that we're playing today. So we had to take them off."
The Gunners made a number of changes to the starting XI that beat Brighton, with Arteta leaving a number of players back in north London.
Gabriel, Martin Zubimendi and Declan Rice were all absent from the matchday squad, with youngsters Marli Salmon, Max Dowman and Dixon handed a rare first-team opportunity.
Eberechi Eze, Jaden Dixon, Max Dowman and Noni Madueke
Max Dowman and Jaden Dixon were in the Arsenal squad against Mansfield Town
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"Well, they had issues and they've been carrying issues," Arteta said when asked about the senior trio.
"And the amount of games that we are playing, it's obviously super demanding.
"And it was the only time to try to make sure that we can clean those issues that they're having to start the next sequence of two weeks before the break in the best possible way. And we had to make those decisions."
William Saliba is another player who missed the win in Mansfield on Saturday. The defender was a surprise absentee from the 1-0 victory at Brighton because of an ankle issue.
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Arteta's men are next in action on Wednesday night against Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League, before they host Everton in the Premier League on Saturday. There is hope that he will return for the European clash in Germany.
"He turned his ankle against Chelsea," the Arsenal boss said in the week. "He managed to finish the game somehow, but he was too sore to play today.”
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