Arsenal fans have been handed a much needed fitness update on Italian defender Riccardo Calafiori after speculation swirled on social media suggesting he had picked up a knock against Leicester City.
Arsenal leave it late to beat Leicester City
Mikel Arteta’s side needed two stoppage time goals to claim all three points against a resolute Leicester City side at the Emirates Stadium, despite leading 2-0 at half time and seemingly comfortable. Goals from Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard put them in the driving seat to continue their unbeaten start to the Premier League, but a complacent second half saw them pegged back to 2-2 thanks to two goals from Leicester defender James Justin.
Arsenal vs Leicester City Match stats
Arsenal
Leicester City
Possession
74%
26%
Shots
36
5
Shots on target
16
3
Big chances
9
0
Expected goals
4.62
0.32
Heroics from Mads Hermansen threatened to deny Arsenal, with the Foxes goalkeeper making 13 saves to keep his side in the game.
However, he was eventually beaten as a set-piece took a deflection off Wilfred Ndidi deep in stoppage time, before Kai Havertz added a fourth with the last kick of the game to ensure all three points for Arsenal, which moved them within a point behind league leaders Liverpool after six games.
Though far from their fluent best and still without several first team options including talisman Martin Ødegaard, Arsenal’s start to the season suggests that they should be firmly in the mix for the title come the end of it.
However, there was concern on the injuries front after Ben White, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Takehiro Tomiyasu all missed the clash with the Foxes, leaving Calafiori and Jurrien Timber as the only options for Mikel Arteta at full back.
Calafiori concern and latest injury news
And in the aftermath of the game, Arsenal insider TeamNewsandTix set alarm bells ringing by telling his followers of “unconfirmed reports that Riccardo Calafiori suffered a knee injury”, which left him “apparently in tears after the game”.
Eagle-eyed fans spotted the moment that he appeared to suffer an issue when challenging for the ball late on, before photos surfaced of the Italian defender with his left knee in a compression sleeve in the aftermath of the win.
Having suffered a horror injury to that knee during his time at Roma, and with Timber having suffered a serious knee injury in August last year, there were fears that history may be repeating itself. However, the same source has now since confirmed that Calafiori’s scans have shown no sign of a major injury, which will come as a major relief to Arsenal fans, while Fabrizio Romano has shared an update directly from the manager on Monday morning.
“Calafiori? We’ll see how he feels today, he was a bit emotional after the game,” Arteta has admitted about the Italian’s injury scare.
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It may also mean that Calafiori keeps his place as the Gunners welcome PSG to the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night, looking for their first win in the Champions League this season after drawing with European Champions Atalanta in Bergamo last week. That news will come as a major boost to Arteta, who is already a big fan of his latest defensive addition.
“He’s really good. He’s adapted really well to the group, his understanding is exceptional and you see he’s a player with an enormous courage and personality to play, so he’s going to give us a lot”, he told the media after he scored in their draw against Manchester City.
With left-back options at a premium in north London, his fitness could be key across the course of the season.