The injury worry everyone missed as Arsenal nightmare scenario emerges after FA Cup win

Arsenal's injury situation reaches breaking point after latest five-player blow against Mansfield Town

Whether it’s a European giant or a League One cup surprise, it seems Arsenal are condemned to win every game by a single goal until the end of the season. The victory over Brighton was a nerve-racking experience, and while the Gunners didn’t look like they’d lose at Mansfield, it was by no means a comfortable result.

As has been the case across competitions, finishing was not the Gunners’ forte, and while they created plenty of big chances and solid transitions, the outcomes were far from ideal. In the end, it required two excellently hit strikes to secure progression to the next round.

Arteta joked that his side practised the back three they lined up with for just ten minutes in training. With the lack of options, the Spaniard admitted that it was forced upon him due to who was available.

“The players that are available,” he said. “And if we want to manage the load and certain issues that we had in the team, you have to adapt to that. And sometimes it’s not ideal when you have a day to prepare.

“But as well, it was a challenge for all of us to see how we could adapt to that, which I expected in very difficult circumstances.”

Gabriel Magalhaes, Declan Rice, Martin Zubimendi and Jurrien Timber were all not spotted in the Friday training session; however, the latter did travel and came on late for Marli Salmon. football.london asked Arteta if the trio were just rested but it became clear there was more going on than just rest.

“Well, they had issues, and they've been carrying issues,” Arteta explained. “And the amount of games that we are playing, it's obviously super demanding.

“And it was the only time to try to make sure that we can clean those issues that they're having to start the next sequence of two weeks before the break in the best possible way. And we had to make those decisions.”

Leandro Trossard and then Riccardo Calafiori both had to come off the field. Thankfully, Mikel Arteta appeared to suggest these were both “minor” problems.

However, there was a subsequent knock-on effect that Arteta would have wanted to best avoid. Piero Hincapie, who has played plenty of football these past few weeks because of both good form and his own reliable fitness.

Trossard’s issue after 38 minutes meant the Ecuador international had to play a good hour in total. Myles Lewis-Skelly’s suspension turned out to be more problematic than it was hoped.

This will naturally further increase injury worry in the group, with other established stars such as Eze, Timber and Bukayo Saka, also having to come on. Arsenal now have two days’ break before they train on Tuesday ahead of flying to Leverkusen.

They have a league game at home to Everton before the second leg, and then the Carabao Cup final, before it mercifully becomes the international break. Never has a break from domestic action come so gratefully for Arsenal, but this one certainly will.

The likes of William Saliba, Ben White and Martin Odegaard are out with injuries, and whether any of them return before the break remains to be seen. Mikel Merino is truly missed and is not expected to return until very late in the campaign, if at all.

Four competitions remain for Arteta to aim for, a final to come in a fortnight and a title race to go through. Where this FA Cup tanks amongst the club’s priorities remains unclear, and asking the Arsenal boss anything on the topic will provoke only a response of wanting to win everything.

That might indeed be the case; whether it is possible without harming their chances across all their endeavours, though, is the question. But as the Arteta mantra appears to be, one game at a time.