Leandro Trossard’s substitution in Belgium’s Nations League loss to Israel has added another injury worry for Arsenal.
Both Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice pulled out of England’s most recent Nations League team, adding to Mikel Arteta’s injury woes.
Substituting Torssard for the injured Gunner barely 37 minutes into the match exacerbated the latter’s headache.
After suffering injuries to Riccardo Calafiori and Martin Odegaard in September, the north London side will have another challenging international break.
They lost wingers Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka during the international break in October.
Leandro Trossard was forced off after just 37 minutes against Israel
Bukayo Saka, who suffered an injury on England duty in October, was unable to finish Arsenal’s 1-1 draw with Chelsea
Declan Rice played through a broken toe against Chelsea
And now in November the gunners have seen Leandro Trossard hauled off and Ben White set to miss time, though the latter was not selected by England.
Speaking after Belgium’s loss, Domenico Tedesco confirmed the Arsenal winger was taken off due to injury, ‘It was a difficult game for a number of reasons.
‘The players we brought out had never played or trained together.
‘There were a lot of injuries before the game and we also lost Trossard and [Zeno] Debast during the game. It wasn’t a good game, but the conditions were very difficult.’
Trossard now looks set to join an injury list that includes Riccardo Calafiori, who has not featured since Arsenal’s 1-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk in October.
As for White, the England full-back is set to miss up to eight weeks after he underwent surgery to help deal with a long-term knee issue.
Riccardo Calafiori suffered an injury after an awkward fall against Shakhtar Donetsk
Ben White underwent knee surgery and will miss up to eight weeks
Takehiro Tomiyasu, who has been sidelined with an injury for a while, has made just one league appearance this season, meaning Mikel Arteta is also without him.
Declan Rice, who is hoping to play against Chelsea despite taking painkillers for a broken toe, may or may not be able to return to the Arsenal lineup after the international break.
Adding insult to injury, the loss of Saka would leave Arsenal with just Raheem Sterling and Martinelli as their starting wingers, amplifying the impact of Trossard’s injury.
The Gunners have had a rocky start to the season due to a combination of red cards and injuries.
Rice and Trossard were sent off in the draws against Brighton and Manchester City, respectively, adding to Arteta’s side’s tally of three red cards.
During Arsenal’s 2-0 loss against Bournemouth at the Vitality stadium, William Saliba received his marching orders.
Because of this, they are now in fourth place in the league, nine points behind leaders Liverpool, who have just lost once all season under new manager Arne Slot.
Mikel Arteta needs to get his team clicking quickly if they are to keep challenging for the title, especially with injury problems appearing to be getting worse.