Arsenal FC have a trio of touch-and-go/late fitness test injury concerns for Wednesday night’s Champions League clash versus AS Monaco. Gabriel Magalhaes (knock on his knee), Riccardo Calafiori (same issue and level of severity) and Oleksandr Zinchenko (unspecified) could all miss out in midweek.
But they could all just as likely be passed fit and feature too.
UEFA Champions League Matchday 6 of 8
AS Monaco at Arsenal FC
Kickoff: Wed. Dec. 11, 8pm, Emirates Stadium, London, UK
UCL Standing, Form: Arsenal 7th, 10 pts, +6 GD, DWWLW AS Monaco 8th, 10 pts, +5 GD, WDWWL
Gunners Team News
“I hope (Gabriel, Calafiori and Zinchenko are fit enough to play against Monaco), but it’s more a question for the doctors and physios to understand where we are,” said Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, who once again discussed an injury situation without saying anything very informative or insightful.
He continued on, being intentionally vague:
“We are missing a lot of players in the backline. The good thing is that whatever we put there they respond. They respond with a good attitude and performance.”
Calafiori and Gabriel and have missed the last two while Zinchenko missed the score draw London derby with Fulham over the weekend.
Meanwhile Ben White remains out, and is now looking at a return around mid-March, maybe.
There is no definitive timeline for Takehiro Tomiyasu.
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, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America 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, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.