"Well, they had issues and they've been carrying issues, confirmed Arteta. And the amount of games that we are playing, it's obviously super demanding. And it was the only time to try to make sure that we can clean those issues that they're having to start the next sequence of two weeks before the break in the best possible way."
"Both of them, they had little niggles, they weren't comfortable to continue. And we knew that this could be a possibility, especially in the conditions that we're playing today. So, we have to take them off."
Arsenal rested four key players—Declan Rice, Martin Zubimendi, Gabriel, and David Raya—for their FA Cup victory at Mansfield due to fitness concerns. Manager Mikel Arteta confirmed these players carried minor issues and needed recovery time given the demanding fixture schedule. All four are expected to return for the Champions League last-16 first leg against Bayer Leverkusen in Germany. Additionally, Leandro Trossard and Riccardo Calafiori were substituted during the Mansfield match due to minor injuries. William Saliba, Martin Odegaard, and Ben White remained sidelined through injury, though Arsenal hopes Saliba recovers for the Leverkusen fixture.
Read at www.standard.co.uk
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]