Emile Smith Rowe and Thomas Partey both left the pitch prematurely during our win over Southampton on Tuesday.
Mikel Arteta was asked about our midfield duo, as well as Kieran Tierney and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, in his post-match press conference.
Here's what he said:
on Emile Smith Rowe...
He was injured for the game in the FA Cup so he wasn't available. We knew that he probably could not play the whole game today. He has some muscular discomfort so he had to come off again.
on Thomas Partey and Kieran Tierney...
From Saturday, just to make it clear, we had five players who were not available to play. We made seven changes and five of them were because they were not ready to play the game. KT was one of them and Thomas was another, and you could see today that he could not last for 60 minutes, so we have to manage those players, to protect them. Sometimes they are not fit but I cannot explain every single day how every player is feeling.
on Partey having cramp...
We don't know, we don't know. He was feeling some discomfort and hopefully it's nothing, but he was struggling.
on whether Tierney could return for Manchester United...
I don't know. He wasn't available against Southampton in the FA Cup, he was injured. He's still injured today. Let's see how he progresses for the game against Man United.
on Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang...
No [there's no update] but I love how they support each other and how they protect each other. Auba is having a difficult time. We are all behind him and this win is for him.
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