Arsenal great Emmanuel Petit is ‘worried’ for Declan Rice and Cristhian Mosquera after the duo were forced off injured in the victory over Brentford.
The Gunners eased to a 2-0 victory over the Bees on Wednesday night to go five points clear at the summit of the Premier League once again.
The Gunners were already without their first-choice pairing of William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes who were watching on from the stands. Saliba picked up a knock in training ahead of last weekend’s game at Chelsea while Gabriel is expected to be out until late December with a thigh injury.
Mosquera and Piero Hincapie continued at centre-half in their absence but the latter was forced off late on in the first-half after landing awkwardly after an aerial challenge.
Jurrien Timber replaced the former Villarreal star and there was another scare late on with Rice picking up a knock, seen clutching his calf before leaving the pitch.
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Arsenal have dealt with a number of injury problems already this season with Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, Noni Madueke, Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard all having spells out of the team with Kai Havertz not featuring since the opening weekend.
But the sight of Mosquera and particularly Rice coming off was a major concern for former Arsenal star Petit.
‘It was not the best game so far for Arsenal but they created the best chances and deserved the win,’ Rice told Premier League Productions.
‘I am worried about Mosquera and Rice as well, I don’t know if Rice is injured. They have had three very important games but I don’t want to get more injured players.
‘It’s not what you want because he is so important for the team. I’m worried. I hope it is not bad for him because this guy is so important.’
Arteta provided an update on Rice and Mosquera after the game with both players to undergo tests on Thursday.
Obviously it’s never good news, Declan had to come off, we don’t know, we have to see tomorrow what he’s got,’ Arteta said after the game.
‘And Mosque is the other one that is out. Obviously we have big Gabi [Gabriel] and Willi [William Saliba] out as well so we have to adapt.
When asked for more on Rice’s injury, Arteta said: ‘He could not carry on playing so we have to wait and see tomorrow what happens.
‘He can walk but he could not play.’