Mikel Arteta isn’t too positive about the injury to Sead Kolasinac, after the left-back’s early substitution against Everton on Sunday.

Sead Kolasinac of Arsenal leaves the pitch with an injury during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Everton FC at Emirates Stadium on February 23, 2020 in London, United Kingdom.
LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 23: Sead Kolasinac of Arsenal leaves the pitch with an injury during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Everton FC at Emirates Stadium on February 23, 2020, in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)

Mikel Arteta had to withdraw Sead Kolasinac from the action in the early stages of Arsenal’s win over Everton on Sunday. The left-back went down with an injury around the 18th minute, and he left the pitch with his arm in a makeshift sling.

Speaking after the game, Arteta’s assessment wasn’t a particularly encouraging one.

“I don’t know, it looked bad,” the head coach said. “He was in a lot of pain so we will assess him [on Monday] and see how he is.”

The obvious assumption you make when you see a player with their arm in a sling is they’ve dislocated their shoulder. That’s what happened with Kieran Tierney in the win over West Ham in December.

Tierney is closing in on a return to first-team football right now, two-and-a-half months later. Obviously, it would be a blow if Kolasinac misses a similar period of the season. Arguably, you’re looking at him missing the rest of the campaign.

We don’t have any confirmation that things are that serious just yet though. It’s very possible the problem is something else, so we’ll just have to wait for Arsenal’s assessment.