Riccardo Calafiori injury worries rise as Arsenal face transfer ultimatum with new principle

Riccardo Calafiori’s Arsenal future raised after second crazy injury situation repeats itself

For the second time this season, Riccardo Calafiori was taken out of an Arsenal starting eleven just before kick-off. Having already been replaced by Myles Lewis-Skelly ahead of the clash with Brighton earlier in the campaign, Bukayo Saka had to step in, with the aforementioned youngster moving back from midfield into his typical left-back slot against Wigan Athletic.

Mikel Arteta, after the game, was rather coy when it came to providing any details on the nature of the injury, however. Not something which is particularly out of character for the Spaniard, and he will be prompted for further details in Tuesday’s pre-match Wolves press conference.

“Yeah, him and Ben are the only doubts,” Arteta said. “We have to wait and see in the next 48 hours how things develop.”

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Ben White would later post to his Instagram story a post which said, “No injuries” which will come as a boost to his and perhaps Thomas Tuchel’s hopes of a call-up ahead of the March international fixtures.

But on Calafiori, again, there appears to be little understood about the nature of the problem. The Italian would miss six league games, including the Brighton clash, for which he was ejected from the starting line-up earlier this season.

He missed 16 league games through six separate issues spaced across the campaign. He was vital in the first half of the season and remained fit, with many hoping he’d finally shaken off the recurring problems, but this latest one has again begun to raise questions.

Arteta does have both Piero Hincapie and Lewis-Skelly, who can play at left-back, although the latter has been only sporadically used and has struggled for form.

Whether this now sparks a summer decision on Calafiori and further recruitment into the defence remains to be seen. However, there is a sense that Andrea Berta’s arrival and the club’s establishment at the top end of the table have led to a more ruthless assessment of squad decisions.

For example, despite Gabriel Jesus’ public declaration of wanting to stay beyond the end of his current deal, there are currently no signs that talks are underway or will begin. The Brazilian has also suffered persistent injury problems.

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