Arsenal’s defeat by Sporting Lisbon and exit from the Europa League was compounded by injuries to Takehiro Tomiyasu and William Saliba on Thursday night.
The Gunners were knocked out of the competition on penalties by Sporting after the tie finished 3-3 on aggregate following extra-time at the Emirates Stadium. Granit Xhaka put Arsenal in front after 19 minutes, but Sporting equalised through Pedro Goncalves’ stunning long-range goal. Gabriel Martinelli then saw his spot-kick saved as the Portuguese side won 5-3 in the shootout to progress to the quarter-finals.
Mikel Arteta made five changes to the team which beat Fulham 3-0 on Sunday but his attempts at rotation did not have the desired effect. Tomiyasu had to be replaced by Ben White just nine minutes into the game after injuring himself while lunging into a tackle. The Japan international was later seen leaving the stadium on crutches.
Things went from bad to worse in the 21st minute when Saliba also had to come off after seemingly injuring his back. Arsenal are five points clear of Manchester City in the Premier League title race and injuries were the last thing Arteta wanted from their Europa League exploits.
“Tomiyasu looks pretty serious from his reaction straight [away] and what he said to me, but obviously, it’s very early,” he said in his pre-match press conference. “Willy? I don’t know, he had some discomfort and could not continue so we had to take him out.”
HAVE YOUR SAY! How much of a dent are these injuries to Arsenal's title hopes? Comment below.
Asked about the long-term implications of the injuries, Arteta added: “We’ve been carrying injuries throughout the season. We had Emile [Smith Rowe] out for four months, [Gabriel] Jesus for four months, Thomas [Partey] for a month and a half, Alex [Zinchenko] for two and half months, Eddie [Nketiah] for a month and a half. We had quite a lot of injuries already, but we dealt with them.
“The disappointment is not going to go away, it’s there now. But there’s also clarity. It’s 11 games to go now and we have a final against Crystal Palace. We have to recover and put all the focus there and win.”
Saliba has played every minute in the Premier League for Arsenal this season, forming a strong partnership with Gabriel Magalhaes in central defence. He was replaced by Rob Holding against Sporting and the defender may be in line to feature against Palace in the Premier League on Sunday.
There was one piece of positive injury news, with Jesus making his first start since picking up a serious knee injury while playing for Brazil at the World Cup. He played the first half before being withdrawn for Leandro Trossard in a planned substitution at half-time.
“We decided to do that because we had to manage the subs,” Arteta explained. “Thank God we did take him out, especially after the two windows that we had to use in the first half. That was the plan.
“Leo is coming from an injury as well and we knew the game could go to extra time and we had to manage that. He looked OK.”
