Arsenal news: Mikel Arteta suffers injury blow to four players as terrifying stat emerges

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Arsenal’s 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace on Sunday strengthened their claim as this season’s Premier League title favourites. The Gunners were unspectacular offensively but an acrobatic volley from Eberechi Eze against his former side and another rock solid defensive effort was enough to secure all three points.

Mikel Arteta ’s side extended their lead atop the table to four points, having won 11 of their 13 games in all competitions while only conceding three goals. In those matches, they have kept an astonishing 10 clean sheets, proving they are the best defensive side in Europe at this moment in time.

That feat is even more impressive given they have faced several teams they dropped points against last season. And now, as Arteta’s men turn their attention to Wednesday’s Carabao Cup clash with Brighton , Mirror Football brings you the latest news surrounding Arsenal .

The narrow victory over difficult opponents in Palace came at a cost, as four players sustained injuries of varying degrees during the game. Arteta confirmed post-match that he had to substitute William Saliba, Declan Rice and Riccardo Calafiori during the game as they picked up injuries .

Saliba was taken off for Cristhian Mosquera at half-time, while Rice went down injured in the dying minutes. The Arsenal midfielder was substituted for Mikel Merino after being attended to by the team physio, and Calafiori was withdrawn at the same time, with Piero Hincapie making his Premier League debut off the bench.

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"William Saliba felt some pain. Declan [Rice] was the same," Arteta said to Sky Sports . Speaking to the media, he added: "The first one was Willy, he was out from a knock that he took. And Ricci too.

"With Declan I don't really know because it was knock, whether it was a calf or an Achilles."

Gabriel Martinelli finished the game but also “felt something”, according to the Arsenal boss. He added: "Yeah I think [Martinelli is okay]. He said he felt something, we do not know if it is a muscular issue or not."

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The Gunners will be hoping history doesn’t repeat itself after a shocking stat emerged following the Palace win. With Arsenal now on 22 points in the league, it marks the seventh time the north Londoners have achieved the milestone after nine games.

However, they have stunningly only won the league in one of those seasons despite their dominant starts, that being the 2003/04 Invincibles campaign. Arsenal have therefore picked up the unwanted reputation of being nearly men in recent times, having come close to lifting the Premier League trophy in several of those seasons before drifting off later down the line.

Such seasons include the 2002/03, 2004/05 2007/08, 2013/14 and 2022/23 campaigns. But Arteta’s squad now is considerably stronger and better equipped to deal with injuries than in 22/23, where Saliba’s absence cost them the title. With that in mind and rivals not being at their best this term, this could very well be the season that Arsenal end their 21-year drought.

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