Arteta admits Calafiori is ’emotional’ after Arsenal injury scare

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta admitted Italy international Riccardo Calafiori was “emotional” as he feared a serious injury following Arsenal’s 4-2 win over Leicester City in the Premier League at the weekend, but gave an encouraging update that He is “in the running” for the Champions League game on Tuesday evening.

Calafiori made the second Premier League start of his Arsenal career on Saturday, playing the full game as Arsenal secured a 4-2 win over Leicester.

However, the former Bologna centre-back appeared to be struggling towards the end and some fans online speculated that the possible ‘injury’ had occurred.

Fortunately, Arteta has assured fans that Calafiori will be considered to play against Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday evening, although he will be assessed on that day.

“(Ben White and Riccardo Calafiori) are two players who are in the running and who we have to evaluate today. We didn’t do any training sessions yesterday. (Riccardo) was a bit emotional after the game so let’s see how he feels today,” Arteta said during his pre-match press conference.

He continued: “They are two players who have a football brain, the intelligence, the quality and the adaptability to occupy different spaces, be it in attack or defense.”

“Riccardo immediately understood what we wanted and he felt like he would fit in perfectly, and that was true. He landed with the biggest smile on his face. He has this energy and aura around him. He’s very likeable and a fighter, a player who wanted to play the way we want to play and he would do anything for the team.”

Calafiori and his Arsenal teammates will host PSG at the Emirates on Tuesday evening at 8pm BST.