Riccardo Calafiori was substituted at half-time in yesterday’s win against West Ham due to an apparent injury sustained in the first half.
In Arsenal’s close encounter with West Ham United at the London Stadium yesterday, Ben White was forced off early in the game with a knee injury.
Martin Zubimendi was White’s replacement, pushing Declan Rice into right back. This tactic didn’t seem to work too well for the remainder of the first half, and another substitution was made at half-time.
Cristhian Mosquera was subbed on for Riccardo Calafiori due to an apparent injury; however, the substitution allowed Declan Rice to shift back into midfield and Myles Lewis-Skelly to left-back, with Mosquera taking the right full-back position.
Mikel Arteta’s side went on to win the game thanks to Leandro Trossard’s winner despite having a late West Ham goal ruled out for a foul on David Raya.
Calafiori’s message to fans
During the game, Co-commentator and former England right-back, Gary Neville, claimed he saw the half-time substitution as a tactical change to get Declan Rice back into the midfield, which is where he plays best and affects a game.
However, in a post-match interview, Mikel Arteta revealed that Calafiori was in fact substituted due to an injury. “We had to make another change with Richy,” Arteta stated.
There was an update on Ben Whites knee injury, and there are fears it could be a serious injury, whereas for Calafiori, there were no updates given for the injury. Arsenal have depth in the left-back position with both Hincapie and Lewis-Skelly able to play there in the absence of Calafiori.
Calafiori did, however, send a message to Arsenal fans after the game. In an Instagram story alongside a picture of him playing, Calafiori said: “Let’s gooo [red love heart emoji].” He then shared a post of Arsenal celebrating at full-time.
Who replaces the injured full-backs?
Mikel Arteta saw two defenders get injured in yesterday’s clash with West Ham, and with the season coming to an end and just two games away from a possible Premier League title, Arteta will be hoping to keep everyone fit.
However, in the right back position, both Ben White and Jurrien Timber are both injured, so for the rest of the season, Cristhian Mosquera looks like he will be the right-back to see out the season. However, Arteta will be hoping to have one of the full-backs back fit in time for their Champions League final.
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Hincapie has started the last three games on the bench, only coming on in the Atletico Madrid game mid-week. This seems more like a chance to rest a player who has played so many minutes this season due to Calafiori’s previous injuries and Lewis-Skelly being out of favour for the majority of the season.
With Lewis-Skelly finding himself as a starting midfielder alongside Decland Rice, Hincapie looks like the favoured player to come in at left back now, for the injured Calafiori, as he has done already this season. Calafiori’s injury is unknown, and he could be back for the Burnley game, but with Arteta claiming the left-back is injured, fans will expect to see the return of Hincapie.