Arsenal beat Newcastle United 1-0 on Saturday, with Eberechi Eze scoring the game’s only goal. The victory brought a couple of new injury/fitness concerns, however, with Eze himself, and Kai Havertz.
The latter actually required medical treatment on the pitch, and had to be subbed off 35 minutes into the game.
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Arsenal at Atletico Madrid: Leg 1 of 2
Kickoff: Wed. Apr 29, 8pm, Riyadh Air Metropolitano, Madrid, Spain
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Meanwhile Eze, who won man of the match honors for his heroics, was subbed off 10 minutes into the second half. Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said of Havertz and Eze afterward:
“Lets see, at the moment they have to be looked after, but hopefully they’re going to be okay.”
Eze allayed fears of injury, in a postgame interview with Sky Sports.
“Yeah, I’m alright. I’m all good,” he clarified, and then added: “Just precaution, didn’t want to do anything. Yeah, I’ll be okay.”
So Eze will be available for Wednesday night’s UCL semi-final clash at Atletico Madrid. Havertz should likely be as well.
Elsewhere, it was expected, heading into the weekend, that both Bukayo Saka and Riccardo Calafiori would be returning to the squad.
The former did while the latter did not. Thus, it’s anticipated now that Calafiori (unspecified/undisclosed muscular injury issue) will come back for this one.
Finally, Jurrien Timber and Mikel Merino remain sidelined, and won’t return until next month.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, Ratings and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and the Washington Post.