Arsenal were missing a few key names when they announced their squad for the game against Crystal Palace which contained a very youthful bench and the update about Kieran Tierney was very concerning.
There was no Kieran Tierney in the Arsenal starting lineup and Nicolas Pepe was not in his usual spot on the bench.
It turns out that Tierney has a knee problem.
Speaking before the game against Palace, Arteta admitted that Tierney had some damage to his knee and would see a specialist on Tuesday.
““He came back from international duty and felt something wrong in his knee,” Arteta told Sky Sports.
“He felt something in training, had a scan and there’s damage.
“He’s seeing a specialist on Tuesday, but it isn’t looking good.”
The Scottish S*n then reported that Tierney came back from international duty with the problem and that it could require surgery.
Tierney played the full 90 minutes in both of Scotland’s meaningless friendlies during the international break.
Speaking after the game, Arteta added, “He’s seeing a specialist tomorrow [Tuesday] and we will know more about the extent of the injury then, but the feeling that he had it wasn’t really positive and what the scan showed either, but we will have to wait and see what happens.”
Pepe was ill.
There was some good news in that Aaron Ramsdale returned to the starting lineup but Takehiro Tomiyasu was still missing.
The night, however, did not go well and Arsenal lost Thomas Partey with Arteta saying, “I don’t know [how bad it is], but he felt something in the same area [thigh] that he got injured previously, so it’s a big concern.”
Arsenal line up for Crystal Palace
Arsenal: Ramsdale, Cedric, White, Gabriel, Tavares, Partey, Xhaka, Saka, Odegaard, Smith Rowe, Lacazette
Subs: Leno, Holding, Ogungbo, Swanson, Lokonga, Elneny, Martinelli, Flores, Nketiah
Who is Marcelo Flores?
Many fans will already have heard of Flores from his recent call-up to the senior Mexican national team. Capable of playing at attacking midfield or on the wings (usually the left), Flores has 19 goals or assists for the academy this season.
There’s already talk that Flores could get a chance to impress with the first-team in pre-season
Who is Mazeed Ogungbo?
Ogungbo is a defender who can play centre-back, left-back, or left-wing-back, though he’s probably been most comfortable at left-centre-back in a three this season.
Making 25 appearances for the u23s/u21s, he’s been the Arsenal academy’s busiest player, and performed consistently throughout the season.
2 Arsenal youngsters join senior Premier League squad for 1st time