Ahead of Thursday’s trip to Standard Liege, for the UEFA Europa League group stage finale at the Stade Maurice Dufrasne, Arsenal issued an injury update. Defenders Hector Bellerin and Kieran Tierney both got hurt last night in the 3-1 win at West Ham United.
The victory was sorely needed for the Gunners as it ended a winless in nine across all competitions stretch. But it obviously came with a cost. Tierney suffered a shoulder injury during the match that could see him sidelined for some time. Bellerin hurt his hamstring before the match and was replaced by Ainsley Maitland-Niles; who definitely needed the playing time. Bellerin’s issue doesn’t appear to be too serious.
Interim boss Freddie Ljungberg updated the media today.
“Tierney, I think it’s something with his shoulder but I don’t know exactly what it is, but obviously we had to take him off so I think he’s going to maybe go to hospital and check what it is,” he said.
“Hector had a bit of feeling, I think, in his hamstring in the warm up. Then we took the decision. I said I’m not going to force anyone to play if you don’t feel 100 percent.
“So we took him off and had a straight swap on that with Ainsley, and Ainsley had been out in the cold for a little bit and comes on and does really well, so I’m really proud of him and happy for him.”
Arsenal will certainly play their reserves on Thursday night, just like they have for the entire tournament. They currently sit atop their grouping, and have already booked passage through to the round of 32, so they definitely will be playing the kids and reserves.
In the league though, they’re still struggling massively, sitting ninth in the table after the win. They’re not that far off the pace of the top four though, as they trail rivals Chelsea by seven points.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
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