Riccardo Calafiori hasn’t suffered an injury setback, with Mikel Arteta confirming his withdrawal against Chelsea was purely based on the state of the game.
Riccardo Calafiori was withdrawn at half-time of Arsenal’s match against Chelsea on Sunday, which was somewhat unfortunate considering the Gunners could have used him to break down the 10-man hosts.
Given Calafiori’s recent injury history and his November hip problem on international duty, there were some suspicions that his withdrawal was enforced by a fitness complaint.
But Mikel Arteta confirmed after the same that the real reason for the change was the yellow card Calafiori had picked up in the early stages.
“We had four players with yellow cards and you could see they were targeting those players to get the game even,” Arteta explained.
“The one at biggest risk was Riccy [Calafiori], that’s why I had to take him out against Estevao or Neto, they could come in and look for him.”
It’s certainly a shame Arteta felt forced into that change, and not only because Calafiori has provided a strong option going forwards this season. The Italy international is also a big body to have at the back on set-pieces, which could have helped with Chelsea’s opening goal.
Arsenal are usually strong on set-pieces, but a lot of that comes from the back four of Calafiori, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, and Jurrien Timber. Timber was the only one of the four to play the second half at Stamford Bridge.
The upside is that Calafiori got a rest in the second half, Timber remains fit, and Arteta has since suggested that Saliba is just days away from a return. It may be a while yet until Gabriel is back, but the other three should be in action this week.