Piero Hincapie gives perfect response to injury blow after Arsenal win over Crystal Palace

Arsenal defender Piero Hincapie missed the victory over Crystal Palace and has now sent the perfect message to that injury blow

Piero Hincapie has sent the perfect message after missing Arsenal's Carabao Cup win over Crystal Palace through injury. Kepa Arrizabalaga was the hero as he saved Maxence Lacroix's penalty after 15 converted spot-kicks, with the Eagles defender scoring an own goal that was cancelled out by Marc Guehi in normal time.

Despite the victory, it was not a dream night for Mikel Arteta with Gabriel Martinelli picking up a minor issue. That potential blow was in addition to Hincapie missing out entirely through an injury suffered in the win against Everton.

Arteta gave updates on both ahead of busy schedule where Arsenal play six fixtures in 18 days. He said: "Martinelli is more a knock, and he wasn't comfortable to carry on after the second half, with Piero, yeah, something different because he picked up a injury against Everton."

Hincapie has subsequently joined Gabriel Magalhaes, Cristhian Mosquera and Ben White as defenders on the injury list. However, he has not seemingly allowed that to dampen his mood as he posed with player of the match William Saliba and Gabriel.

The picture was later uploaded to Instagram and Hincapie replied to the post with a heart emoji. The summer signing will be keen to return swiftly with Mosquera out until 2026 and Gabriel still missing.

Arteta has been handed a positive injury update this week however, with Kai Havertz spotted back in training after four months out with a knee injury that required surgery.

The Germany international did not feature in the squad on Tuesday night, but could return to the fold before 2025 concludes.

With injuries having plagued Arsenal this season, Arteta will be hopeful that no further blows arrive over the coming weeks. Given the tight turnaround between games, managing the squad will be key with Arteta revealing his thoughts on that.

He said at a press conference: "I see it as a privilege at the end, because of the attitude of the players. I mean, they make your job a joy.

"We had situations where we didn't have a choice, and up front for many months we had a situation, and now we have a situation in the back line.

"But it doesn't matter. We have situations like Christian, like Kepa, like any player that is there constantly. Whatever the role that they have on the day of training, they fulfil it.

"And then when they play, that's what they do. And every player has to have that mindset, because you're going to have a big role to play. You want to achieve what we want to achieve, and it's going to be the only way."

Less travel time could play a key role in helping fatigue with three of Arsenal's next four league games at Emirates Stadium.

The Gunners also have more rest days than title rivals Manchester City and Aston Villa with the latter needing to face Arteta's side and Chelsea away from home after Christmas.