Mikel Arteta confirms double Arsenal injury blow

Mikel Arteta confirms double Arsenal injury blow Arsenal Injury Blow as Piero Hincapie and Martin Zubimendi Face Ankle Scans Before Lille Clash Arsenal’s win over Leeds came with a cost. Piero Hincapie and Martin Zubimendi are both set for scans after suffering ankle injuries in the aftermath of Saturday’s 2-1 Premier League victory, leaving Mikel Arteta with a fresh selection problem before Lille visit the Emirates in the Champions League. Neither player took part in the open training session at London Colney ahead of Tuesday night’s fixture. That told its own story. Hincapie and Zubimendi are now doubts, and in Hincapie’s case the concern appears greater. Photo IMAGO Arsenal injuries create fresh concern Hincapie only played eight minutes against Leeds after coming on for Riccardo Calafiori. Even so, he ended the day in far worse shape than anyone expected. The defender was later carried out of the post-match warm-down after twisting his ankle, with the incident made even stranger by the fact he had to be helped from the pitch on the back of Illan Meslier. Zubimendi’s issue arrived in similar circumstances. He did not feature against Leeds and was an unused substitute, yet still came away with an ankle problem serious enough to keep him out of training and send him for further assessment. Arteta explained the context clearly. “We had a training session planned for after the game for players that did not have enough minutes, to get everybody in the right rhythm,” Arteta said. “In two very unfortunate actions we lost two players. Not great. “Today they’re going to have a further scan and probably tomorrow we’ll know more and then we’ll see how they’re going to go. Piero’s one looks a little bit more serious, I think, but we’ll have to wait and see.” Mikel Arteta explains post-match session There is no mystery here. Arsenal needed to top up the minutes of squad players. That is standard practice, especially with a packed schedule and Champions League football. The risk is obvious, but so is the logic. Players who do not train properly or who do not get intensity into their legs rarely perform when suddenly thrown into major matches. Arteta put it bluntly. “Very easy, you don’t train. “If they never train then they don’t get injured, but the consequence to that is when they are needed to play they have no rhythm and when you ask them to play they are going to have no impact in the game. “That could happen at the Emirates, it never happened in seven years that I have been here. It could happen the next day in the training session. That has happened before and hopefully it doesn’t happen again. “What can you do? If I had a crystal ball I would just say ‘guys, get in the Jacuzzi and I will see you tomorrow’.” Lille test now comes with selection doubt That leaves Arsenal waiting on scan results and hoping the damage is limited. Hincapie looks the bigger worry, Zubimendi remains uncertain, and Arteta now has less room for manoeuvre ahead of an important European night. For Arsenal, the point is simple. They beat Leeds. Then they lost two players in training straight after the match. It is bad luck, poor timing and a headache they could do without before Lille.