Arsenal are facing a major headache over Riccardo Calafiori, their most irreplaceable player, after Piero Hincapie suffered an ankle injury that is expected to keep him out of the next few matches.
Mikel Arteta confirmed on Monday that Hincapie and Martin Zubimendi both picked up ankle problems in a training session on the pitch after the win over Leeds on Saturday. The session was designed to get players with limited minutes this season up to speed.
Bizarrely, Hincapie was given a piggyback off the pitch by goalkeeper Illan Meslier after being unable to put weight on his ankle, rather than being assisted by medical staff, much to the irritation of Arteta.
Calafiori's unique role
The left-back position is crucial for this team, and Hincapie's absence complicates matters. Calafiori has become a vital cog in the Arsenal machine, given more freedom than any other player and holding real attacking responsibility.
“He is a free bird,” Arteta said last month. “If you put strings on him, it doesn't work. There are players you need to allow to express themselves, to give them room, to give them space and not restrict them to certain areas, because that’s where they flow and make others flow.”
Calafiori scored the equaliser against Leeds on Saturday and has five goal involvements in 10 matches for club and country this season. However, his issue has been staying fit—he made only 11 league starts in his first season and was responsible for two late warm-up withdrawals last season.
Protecting the Italian
Calafiori is potentially the most irreplaceable player in the squad. While the drop-off in quality when Bukayo Saka or Martin Odegaard are unavailable is significant, the team can still play in a similar way—not so with Calafiori, whose timing of runs, instinct in the final third, and execution in the box are remarkable.
He has started every league match this season and not played a minute in any other competition. His fitness has been carefully managed, helped by having the summer off after Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup, which he spent backpacking around South America.
Tuesday's match against Lille is one Arsenal should be confident of winning even without the Italian, with six more league phase matches to come. Whether it means starting Myles Lewis-Skelly at left-back or finding a more creative solution, protecting Calafiori should be the priority.
Arsenal travel to face Bayern Munich next Wednesday. Assuming Calafiori stays fit and is selected against Nottingham Forest and Everton either side of that trip, it could be the first time he is asked to start three matches in a week this season—something he only managed twice last season. With Hincapie out, the temptation might be to push Calafiori, but it should really be a time for even more caution.
