Mikel Arteta confirms four injury blows in Arsenal’s Palace victory

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta confirmed that he was forced to substitute William Saliba, Declan Rice and Riccardo Calafiori against Crystal Palace due to injuries, with Gabriel Martinelli also a concern.

The Gunners continued their impressive form this season with an hard-fought 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace. Eberechi Eze’s goal against his former club was enough for Mikel Arteta’s side but the victory was bittersweet due to the injuries sustained on Sunday afternoon.

Eberechi Eze celebrates scoring Arsenal’s goal against Crystal Palace. (Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

Saliba was replaced by Cristhian Mosquera at half-time before Rice went down injured in the closing stages. Mikel Merino replaced the England international after being attended to by the physio, while Calafiori was also withdrawn at the same moment, with Piero Hincapie making his Premier League debut off the bench.

“William Saliba felt some pain. Declan [Rice] was the same,” Arteta said to Sky Sports. Speaking to the media, he added: “The first one was Willy, he was out from a knock that he took. And Ricci too.

“With Declan I don’t really know because it was knock, whether it was a calf or an Achilles. Yeah I think [Martinelli is okay]. He said he felt something, we do not know if it is a muscular issue or not.”

Declan Rice walks of the pitch after an injury during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Crystal Palace at Emirates Stadium. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)

Arteta added that Martinelli will have to be checked over by the club’s medical staff, while Saka was taken off for the Brazilian in the second half in order to avoid any injuries having been ill recently.

“He [Saka] has been ill,” Arteta said. “He has not trained and we did not know if he was going to be fit.”

The array of injuries are an obvious concern for Arteta, but the Arsenal manager does now have the luxury of a deeper squad which could allow him to sustain their title charge without some key players.

“I’m really happy because we knew the difficulty of the match,” he told Sky Sports. “It was a crucial win against a good side. Today we were clinical and defensively excellent. No one really generates big chances against them with the way they set up.

“They (players) earned it. The way they compete and play, the way they want to win, it’s amazing. The five [substitutes] that came on today made a big difference again. You see the other results in the Premier League…you have to be so good to win.”

Arsenal are four points clear at the top of the Premier League table, ahead of Bournemouth in second and Sunderland in third. Title rivals Manchester City are fourth, six points behind, while defending champions Liverpool are seven points adrift of Arteta’s side.