Arsenal fans just got the last Piero Hincapié injury news they needed

A missed opportunity, rather than a total disaster. On Thursday night, league-leaders Arsenal and champions Liverpool played out a rather uneventful goalless draw in North London. Mikel Arteta's team spurned the opportunity to go eight points clear at the top, after Manchester City's 1-1 draw with Brighton the night before.

So, those departing the Emirates in the pouring rain at full time did so deflated, albeit surely every single one of them would've been delighted with a six-point advantage at this stage.

Next up, Arteta's team turn their attention to other competitions. The Gunners will face Portsmouth in the FA Cup on Sunday, before meeting Chelsea in the first leg of their EFL Cup semi-final at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday. With nine matches in January, two down, seven remaining, Arteta will surely utilised every senior member of his squad. Thus, picking up another injury concern is far from ideal.

The latest on Piero Hincapié's injury

Shortly before the hour mark on Thursday, left-back Piero Hincapié had to be withdrawn, replaced by Myles Lewis-Skelly. Well, Ryan Taylor of Football London is reporting that the Ecuadorian defender has suffered a hamstring injury. He is "set to undergo scans" amid growing concerns that he exacerbated any issue sprinting to chase down Jeremie Frimpong.

The summer signing from Bayer Leverkusen has started each of the last ten Premier League matches, dating back to November's North London derby. He was first deputising for Gabriel at centre-back, before three successive starts at left-back in Riccardo Calafiori's absence.

Arsenal's title bid last season was completely derailed by injuries, hence why Arteta heavily bolstered his squad, both in terms of quantity and quality, during the summer. Well, as documented below, it is just as well that they did so:

Arsenal players number of matches missed due to injury 2025/26

As the table outlines, 30 matches into this season, 17 members of Arsenal's 22 man outfield squad have missed multiple matches due to injury. Martin Ødegaard and Noni Madueke have endured long spells on the sidelines, while Kai Havertz's sole appearance came off the bench at Old Trafford on the opening weekend before undergoing knee surgery.

Earlier in the campaign, Arteta was very short of attacking options, but it is now defenders he is lacking. Riccardo Calafiori, Cristhian Mosquera and Hincapié are all sidelined, leaving Arteta with just five defenders for four position. Of these, both Gabriel and Benjamin White are only just back following extended periods on the sidelines of their own, so must be carefully managed.

Between now and 3 February, Arsenal face Portsmouth, Chelsea, Nottingham Forest, Inter, Manchester United, Kairat, Leeds and then Chelsea again. Fair to say, they really need Mosquera and Calafiori to be back soon, especially if Hincapié is set to be sidelined.