Mikel Arteta says Arsenal “need a cage” to stop Riccardo Calafiori from rushing his comeback.
Calafiori has missed the Gunners’ last two games and Arteta has now revealed that has been due to a groin issue.
It is the latest injury the Italian defender has had since joining Arsenal in the summer from Bologna as part of a deal that could eventually be worth £42million.
The 23-year-old picked up a knock early in September when playing for Italy and he had a knee issue in October. In total, Calafiori has missed nine games due to injury.
The defender missed training on Tuesday afternoon and is a doubt for Arsenal’s Champions League clash with Monaco on Wednesday.
“We need a cage there because he wants to go out, train and play,” said Arteta. “We need to calm him down because he is so willing.
“It is the way he is, the way he plays. It started with the national team with a kick, then he had the knee issue. After that he lost a lot of things. Because of the injuries he had to play more than we wanted. And then he got the issue in his groin.”
Calafiori’s recent absence has coincided with Gabriel being out, which has added to Arsenal’s issues at the back.
Arteta has previously been guarded on the Brazilian’s absence - which has seen him miss the last two games - but has now confirmed it is due to a muscle problem.
“Big Gabi has not had a muscular injury [before, but] he is playing a lot now, he is travelling, going to Brazil, he is a starter with Brazil,” said Arteta.
Arsenal’s injuries this season have especially hit them in the full-back area. Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu are definitely out of Wednesday’s game with Monaco and they could be without five more players.
Calafiori, Gabriel, Jurrien Timber, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Thomas Partey missed training on Tuesday - and all of them, bar Gabriel, have played as full-backs at times this season.
“It depends on two factors, tactical and in relation to what we do, who do we release on the high press and what do they have to do in terms of attack,” said Arteta, when asked about the full-back position in his teams being more physically demanding.
“But certainly at least it is different to playing as a holding midfielder. That is something that is not ideal but we are trying to cope with it.”
Arsenal are especially short at left-back for their clash with Monaco and Myles Lewis-Skelly is competing with Kieran Tierney to start.
Lewis-Skelly, who came through Arsenal’s academy as a midfielder, has played at left-back this season in the first team and would have had more minutes recently - but Arteta has revealed a foot infection has halted his progress.
“I love his personality,” said Arteta. “He’s got a presence on the pitch, that leadership, he’s fearless, he takes the ball, he’s really competitive. I think he can adapt really well to what we want.
“The issue that we had is he had an infection in his foot that [caused] him to miss a few weeks.
“He looks better now, he’s been in training for a week or so and he’s in a good place. He’s a player that can give us a lot.”
