Saliba injury latest, Tomiyasu blow, UEL exit| SolSportHQ
Arsenal lost to Sporting CP on penalties at the Emirates Stadium as they failed to book their place in the Europa League quarter-final draw. The Gunners’ focus is now locked on their Premier League title race with Manchester City and head into the fixture against Crystal Palace aiming to maintain their five-point lead at the top of the table.
The games are coming thick and fast for Arsenal, so the next couple of weeks could prove to be season defining. William Saliba and Takehiro Tomiyasu both came off injured against Sporting, adding to a miserable night at the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal legend Ian Wright believes Leandro Trossard is having a better impact in north London than Mykhailo Mudryk would have done if he had completed a move to the Gunners in the January transfer window. Eddie Nketiah is continuing to recover from an ankle injury after Mikel Arteta offered a fresh update on the striker’s fitness earlier this week.
So, with that being said, stay with us at football.london as we bring you all the latest transfer gossip, team news and injury updates LIVE from the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal legend Ian Wright has delivered an honest verdict on Chelsea star Mykhailo Mudryk after the Gunners missed out on his signature in the January transfer window. The Blues completed an £88million deal for Mudryk after hijacking Arsenal’s deal for the Ukraine international.
The north Londoners responded by agreeing a £27million deal with Brighton to sign Leandro Trossard instead. Mikel Arteta wanted to bolster his attacking options mid-season following Gabriel Jesus’ injury during the World Cup in Qatar.
Sporting director Edu Gaspar told football.london at the London Football Awards that a move for Trossard was not reactive and instead a prepared option if the club missed out on Mudryk. Rio Ferdinand has already urged two Manchester United stars to follow the Belgian’s example at Arsenal after he has impressed in his first 10 appearances under Mikel Arteta.
Wright believes Mudryk would not have had the same impact as Trossard if the Ukrainian winger had completed a move to the Emirates Stadium. He said on his Wrighty’s House podcast : “I don’t care what anyone says, Mudryk, and we’ve seen up to this point, he wouldn’t have done what Trossard has done what Trossard has been doing up to this point.”
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Arsenal defender Takehiro Tomiyasu has been substituted with a suspected injury in the first-half of their Europa League second-leg clash against Sporting CP. The Japanese defender fell to the ground shortly after overstretching for a tackle on Sporting’s Francisco Trincao.
The Gunners need to win tonight after drawing 2-2 in the first-leg against the Portuguese outfit. Mikel Arteta will be concerned having already lost Eddie Nketiah through injury prior to the match, with yet another player checking in to the treatment room before the international break.
Emile Smith Rowe was only fit enough to be named on the substitutes bench by Arteta as the Hale End star continues to build up his match fitness. Gabriel Jesus was handed his first start since before the World Cup after recovering from a knee injury that has kept him sidelined for the past three months.
Read on here.
Welcome along to the Arsenal blog as we bring you all the latest reaction, news, transfer gossip and injury updates from the Emirates Stadium.
