Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has provided a worrying update on Declan Rice after the midfielder was sent off during the Gunners’ win over Brentford on Wednesday night. Rice was taken off in the 83rd minute with a suspected calf injury, but the North London Giants held on to win 2-0.
Arsenal faced the Bees without a strong centre-back pairing in Gabriel and William Saliba. Martin Odegaard was handed a starting role for the first time in two months after recently recovering from a knee injury. And Victor Gokeres came off the bench for the second consecutive game following his own recent dismissal.
Arsenal’s injury concerns were exacerbated by the sending off of centre-back Cristian Mosquera late in the first half, with Julian Timber replacing him. And Rice had to leave the pitch just before the end of the game, replacing Gokeres.
Arteta was asked about Rice’s injury when speaking to the media in his post-match press conference. He said: “Declan has had to step down. We’ll have to wait and see how things go tomorrow.” The Spaniard then explained: “He couldn’t continue, so he had to be sent off. He can walk.”
The Arsenal manager also mentioned Mosquera, adding: “It was part of his knee or ankle, but he couldn’t tell us that.”
Arteta was asked about Rice, Mosquera and Saliba in his post-match interview with Sky Sports. “We’ll know more tomorrow. They need tests. Declan had to sit out. Let’s see who’s available (at the weekend),” he exclaimed.
Asked if he was getting the best out of his team, Arteta said: “Yes, especially given that we still have a lot of injuries. We lost Saliba, we lost Big Gaby and today we lost Mosquela. That was a challenge. Ben White was great today. Everyone who has been given the chance is performing.”
And speaking about the match as a whole, the 43-year-old explained: “It’s always unpleasant because all Brentford need is a throw, chaos and adventure. 1-0 against them is never enough, but I thought we dominated the game and created the best chances.”
“Overall I’m very happy. After the week I had, I didn’t recover after three days. I’m very proud of the players to be able to do it again.”
Wednesday’s result puts Arsenal at the top of the Premier League, five points behind Manchester City after 14 games. The Gunners travel to Aston Villa on Saturday, and on Wednesday the Villans overturned a 2-0 deficit to overturn a 2-0 deficit and move into third place with a 4-3 thrashing of Brighton on the south coast.
