Arteta reveals Calafiori, Williams and Rice injuries after Fleetwood defeat
Mikel Arteta confirmed three fresh fitness concerns in the aftermath of Arsenal's stunning Carabao Cup exit at League Two side Fleetwood Town, with the north London club beaten on penalties at Highbury Stadium after Max Dowman was sent off.
Speaking to the media after the game, Arteta was asked directly about players missing from his squad. “Calafiori was out, Noni was out with an ankle and Declan was finished with a problem the other day. That's why I had to substitute him,” he said, as quoted by football.london.
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That confirms Riccardo Calafiori and Bukayo Saka's understudy Noni Madueke were unavailable, with Madueke nursing an ankle issue, while Declan Rice was withdrawn during the match itself due to a separate problem that had developed in the days prior.
A chastening night in north London
Arsenal were beaten on penalties after failing to find a way through a resolute Fleetwood side, who had a man sent off themselves but still held firm. Arteta did not hide his frustration with the scoreline despite praising his players' effort.
“First of all, congratulations to Fleetwood because they are through. In the manner that they've done it, the atmosphere they've created, I have nothing to fault the players for in terms of their attitude, application, the intensity that they put in throughout the game. After the goal that we conceded, they did it throughout the game, they did it with 11 players, with 10, so there is nothing there. But, when you are that superior, you give nothing to the opponent apart from the first action that we defended so poorly and we conceded the goal,” Arteta said.
He continued: “And you generate so many situations, actions, volume of shots and chances in the opposition box. You have to score three, four or five and then you capitalise on that and you see the difference in the game. If you don't, then there are no margins and that's the reality. And then you have to wait and get through the round on penalties and we didn't do that. So, the probability is always there. It was really low, the way the game was panning out, but it's football and even with that really low probability, you can be out of the cup and we are.”
Dowman red card
Much of the post match discussion centred on Max Dowman's dismissal for kicking out, with Arteta revealing he had briefed the teenager before kick off about Fleetwood's approach to handling him physically. “When we prepared the context of the match, we were very clear on the things to expect. The things that emotionally we have to dominate and it was very clear,” Arteta explained, declining to confirm whether Dowman had apologised or spoken to him since the incident.
Attention now turns to how quickly Madueke, Calafiori and Rice can return to full fitness as Arsenal look to put the cup exit behind them and refocus on the Premier League.
