For Arsenal, the injury list is really starting to grow. The Gunners whipped Wigan Athletic 4-0 earlier today, in a fourth round FA Cup clash. However, the win came with a couple injury costs. Italian defender Riccardo Calafiori suffered an injury in the pregame warm-ups and was thus replaced in the starting lineup by Bukayo Saka.
Meanwhile versatile defender Ben White was forced out, due to injury, in the second half.
Arsenal at Wolves
Kickoff: Wed. Feb. 18, 8pm
Venue: Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton, UK
Premier League Standing: Arsenal 1st, 57 pts Wolves 20th, 9 pts
Result Probability: Arsenal 76% Draw 16% Wolves win 8%
Arsenal Team News at Wolves
One key player who was missing from the squad entirely was team captain Martin Odegaard. He sustained a knock in Arsenal’s score draw (that kind of felt like a loss) against Brentford on Thursday.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was asked about Calafiori and White in the postmatch news conference and he responded: “Yeah, he and Ben are the only doubts. We have to wait and see in the next 48 hours how things develop.”
As for the injury/fitness/availability situation surrounding Odegaard, Arteta said: “Martin, we’ll have to wait and see. He picked that knock on the action when we conceded the goal, and he wasn’t fit for today.”
It is unlikely that we will see any members of this trio feature at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Wednesday night.
While it does not sound like any players within this triad have serious injuries, they are unlikely to be risked against lowly Wolves.
Meanwhile Kai Havertz is out until March while Mikel Merino will probably not play again this season. So the injury list is indeed piling up right now. And it could get even worse, given the fixture pileup, as Arsenal are still alive in all four competitions.
Today saw the North Londoners advance to the fifth round of the FA Cup while they’ll take on Manchester City in the EFL Cup next month.
Also, they’re currently top of the table in the two big ones- the Premier League and UEFA Champions League.
So there are lots of minutes to be played, in all these matches, and thus they need as many fit and able bodies as possible.
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, RG.org and Ratings.org. 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.