Injured: Riccardo Calafiori
Arsenal Football Newsletter
Arsenal were forced into a late reshuffle ahead of their FA Cup tie with Wigan as Riccardo Calafiori dropped out of the starting lineup.
Calafiori had been set to start at left-back against the League One side, as the Gunners look to reach the fifth round of the competition for the first time since they won it in 2020.
However, Calafiori was withdrawn from the side at the last minute as Bukayo Saka replaced him in the lineup.
It is the second time Calafiori has dropped out after the warm-up this season, having also picked up an issue ahead of the Brighton match in December.
This latest disruption meant a change in plan for Mikel Arteta, who had intended to hand Myles Lewis-Skelly rare minutes in midfield.
Lewis-Skelly has played almost exclusively at left-back since breaking into the first-team, but injuries to the likes of Mikel Merino, Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard had presented him with a chance to impress in midifeld.
However, Calafiori's injury meant that Lewis-Skelly had to shift to left-back, with Saka coming into midfield.
Saka, having taken the captain's armband from Ben White, stared in a more central role against Wigan, largely floating around as the right No8.
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With Odegaard out with a knee injury and Havertz sidelined with a muscle issue, Wigan's visit offered Arteta the chance to experiment in that position.