Mikel Arteta Shares Arsenal Injury Update on ‘Exceptional’ Star Ahead of PSG

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has given a fresh injury update on his Gunners squad after the weekend’s clash against Leicester City – with defensive duo Riccardo Calafiori and Ben White ​​both ‘in contention’ for the game against Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday following potential injury woes.

The Gunners are set to undergo their second Champions League game of the campaign on Tuesday evening when PSG visit the Emirates Stadium, with the Parisian outfit aiming to halt Arteta’s men from securing a first win of the campaign in Europe’s elite competition after drawing with Italian outfit Atalanta on the opening game week of the season. But after more injuries over the weekend, and with other stars edging closer to a return, Arteta has given a huge update on the status of the playing squad as the French giants make the short journey to the English capital.

Arteta: White And Calafiori ‘In Contention’ To Play

The defensive duo have been superb to start the current season.

Calafiori went down injured towards the end of Arsenal’s last-gasp win over the weekend, and having reportedly been in tears, Arteta admitted that the ‘exceptional’ star was emotional, but the injury may not be as bad as feared.

Having already seen White, Martin Odegaard, Mikel Merino and more on the sidelines, another injury to one of his first-team stars is the last thing that Arteta will have wanted, with games having come thick and fast in recent days.

And the Spaniard gave an update on his side’s availability, signaling that Calafiori and White will possibly be able to feature in PSG’s visit to north London – though there are others who will still be on the sidelines as the Gunners’ injury crisis looks closer to ending. Speaking to the press on Monday morning, Arteta said of his current defensive pair:

Arsenal Have The Quality For A Top 8 Champions League Finish

The Gunners advanced to the final eight of last season’s competition

With Arsenal having reached the quarter-finals of the tournament last time out – only to be knocked out by Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals – there is every expectation that they can aim to qualify for the round of 16 by finishing in the top eight of the new Champions League format, which would put them straight through to the knockouts.

Any finish between ninth and 24th would see them through to the knockout phase, in which they will take on another side who didn’t quite have the credentials to make the top eight – and winning that would hand Arsenal a place in the latter stages.

The draw with Atalanta was a strong result given their injury woes at the time, but being at home to PSG makes Arsenal slight favourites, even without the likes of Merino and Odegaard – and they’ll be hoping to claim all three points to clamber themselves into the top eight and progress as one of the better sides in the competition.