Mikel Arteta confirms ‘not great news’ for Arsenal as £42m star ruled out for Newcastle United visit

Premier League title hopefuls Arsenal will travel to Newcastle United at the start of November without Riccardo Calafiori, in a huge blow for Mikel Arteta’s side. The versatile Italian international was forced off the field in the 72nd minute during a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League. 

Subsequent scans after the game revealed that the defender had sustained a minor injury to his medial ligament (MCL). London World reporter Chris Wheatley understands that the former Bologna man will miss several weeks of first team action as a result of the problem, making him a huge doubt for Arsenal’s upcoming games against Liverpool, Preston North End and crucially the trip to St James’ Park next month.

“He had to come off because he felt something.” Arsenal boss Artea said after the match. “I don’t know the extent of it, so in that sense, it’s not great news.”

Arsenal have been beaten in two of their last three visits to St James’ Park and were on the receiving end of VAR controversy when Joe Willock kept the ball in play to set up Anthony Gordon’s winner last season. Newcastle United scored an incredible 85 goals in the Premier League last term and possess a huge attacking threat, making Calafiori’s absence a cause for concern after his excellent start to life at the Emirates Stadium.

However, in brighter news for the visitors, Arteta alleviated any injury concerns surrounding defender Ben White and confirmed that the 27-year-old was only taken off at half-time in the Champions League as a precautionary measure due to his booking.

He added: “It was my decision to take him out. He had a yellow card, and we’ve played enough with 10 men recently. They [Shakhtar] had a lot of players on that side, so I didn’t want to take any chances.”

In worrying news for Eddie Howe and his team, Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard is also closing in on a return to first team action. Early estimates from Norway manager Stale Solbakken suggest the midfielder should be back for start of November, which coincides with Newcastle’s clash with the Gunners. Solbakken told Norwegian outlet VG: “Everything indicates that things are going according to plan.

“It’s about the final steps, like training with opponents and in team sessions. It depends on how he responds to that, but we have a legitimate hope that he will be ready.”