Riccardo Calafiori and Ben White are doubts for our Champions League game against Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday night.
Mikel Arteta confirmed the duo were being assessed ahead of the game against the French champions, with Calafiori picking up an issue late on in our win against Leicester City, while Ben has missed our past three games with a knee problem.
With Martin Odegaard, Mikel Merino, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Kieran Tierney all still out injured, the boss confirmed he isn’t sure whether Ben or Riccardo will be ready in time for the visit of Luis Enrique’s team.
Speaking about injuries in his pre-match press conference, he said: “We have a training session this afternoon and we have to review a few players, but overall, especially [anyone] returning, there’s nothing to give back.
“[Ben and Riccardo] are the two players that are in contention and we have to review today. We didn’t do any training sessions yesterday. [Riccardo] was a bit emotional after the game, so let's see how he is today.”
The Italian has quickly made an impression in north London, with a wondergoal against Manchester City on his first start capping a fine display at the home of the champions, before he and Jurrien Timber put in excellent performances further upfield in our 4-2 success against Leicester City.
And the fact the duo have hit the ground running this season as they try to establish themselves in the team has pleased Mikel, who feels the team are benefiting from two fresh faces in it.
“They are two players that have a football brain, the intelligence, the quality and adaptability to occupy different spaces whether attacking or defending,” he said. “That gives the team a different dynamic and makes it unpredictable for the opponent to defend certain ways. Both are huge personalities too which I love.
“They have to have one in common – they have to love defending first. Because they are defenders, then after that they have qualities to add, that’s great.
“[Riccardo] understood what we wanted straight away and he felt that he was going to be a perfect fit here and he was. He landed with the biggest smile on his face. He’s got this energy and aura around him. He’s very likeable and he’s a fighter, a player that wanted to play in the way we want to play and he’d do anything for the team.
"When you have those qualities, a lot would have to go wrong for you not to succeed.”
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