Riccardo Calafiori suffers freak injury against Shakhtar Donetsk in Champions League
Arsenal full-back Riccardo Calafiori suffered a freak injury against Shakhtar Donetsk in the UCL, increasing Mikel Arteta's worries.
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Arsenal defender Riccardo Calafiori injured himself during a UCL encounter against Shakhtar. (via X)
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta faces a new headache following star signing Riccardo Calafiori’s freak injury against Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League. The Italian full-back has added to the club’s injury worries, after twisting his right ankle during the match.
Riccardo Calafiori has stepped up for the Gunners this season as a left-back, becoming a regular under Mikel Arteta. The Italian defender, who had joined from Bologna this summer, however, is expected to face some time on the sidelines. The Gunners were 1-0 up against Shakhtar in the 72nd minute, when he slipped and fell, and appeared to twist his right knee.
He tried to play on after receiving treatment but had to be later taken off the pitch. It could likely be a meniscus injury, and recovery might take time.
Arteta expressed doubt over Calafiori’s availability for the club’s upcoming encounter against Liverpool. The Gunners are already without the services of Bukayo Saka, Jurrien Timber, skipper Martin Odegaard, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Ben White.
Arsenal's Riccardo Calafiori had to be subbed off after twisting his knee ? pic.twitter.com/90DkL33dHL
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William Saliba will also miss the match against the Reds due to a red card suspension that he received against Bournemouth. This creates a massive selection dilemma for Arteta, who has limited defensive options and may have to turn to academy players.
The Gunners are currently lying in the third place in the EPL table and will hope to bounce back from their defeat to Bournemouth last week. Their match against the Reds will be followed by some tough fixtures, against Newcastle and Chelsea and a UCL encounter against Borussia Dortmund.
Arsenal claim narrow 1-0 victory over Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk in the UCL
The Gunners sealed a narrow 1-0 home win over Shakhtar Donetsk in the UCL, thanks to an own goal by goalkeeper Dmytro Riznyk. It was a difficult outing for the club, who also saw a 77th minute Leandro Trossard penalty being saved by the keeper.
Gabriel Martinelli’s 29th minute effort on goal bounced off the post and hit Shakhtar keeper Riznyk in the back before crawling over the line in favor of the home side. Despite Arsenal dominating proceedings, the Ukrainian side showed off their well-organized strategy and proved to be a challenge. However, the Gunners held on to their lead, recording their sixth clean sheet of the season.
Meanwhile, with this win, Arsenal leaped to the third position on the UCL league table, with seven points from three matches. They are yet to concede a goal in the European competition this season and are just two points behind table-toppers Aston Villa.
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Siddhartha Roy
(730 Articles Published)