Arsenal dealt new injury blow as star defender pulls up in warm-up before FA Cup clash | OneFootball

Riccardo Calafiori picked up an issue in the warm-up against Wigan

Arsenal were forced into a late reshuffle ahead of their FA Cup tie with Wigan as Riccardo Calafiori dropped out of the starting line-up.

However, Calafiori was withdrawn from the side at the last minute as Bukayo Saka replaced him in the lineup.

This latest disruption meant a change in plan for Mikel Arteta, who had intended to hand Myles Lewis-Skelly rare minutes in midfield.

Lewis-Skelly has played almost exclusively at left-back since breaking into the first-team, but injuries to the likes of Mikel Merino, Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard had presented him with a chance to impress in midfield.

However, Calafiori's injury meant that Lewis-Skelly had to shift to left-back, with Saka coming into midfield.

Saka, having taken the captain's armband from Ben White, started in a more central role against Wigan, largely floating around as the right No8.

With Odegaard out with a knee injury and Havertz sidelined with a muscle issue, Wigan's visit offered Arteta the chance to experiment in that position.