Why Arsenal's double injury blow could see Myles Lewis-Skelly really flourish

Arsenal fans seem to spend their entire existence worrying about injuries. Well, after an international break during which Kai Havertz and Christos Tzolis both returned with issues, it seems as though Gooners can't ever relax, even when the matches are over.

During a post-game warm down, following Saturday's 2-1 victory over Leeds, both Piero Hincapié and Martín Zubimendi suffered injuries, the former having to be piggybacked off by Kepa Arrizabalaga.

Speaking to the media for the first time since this came to late, in his pre-LOSC Lille press conference on Monday lunchtime, Mikel Arteta revealed the latest on both players:

"We had a training session planned after the game for the players that didn't have enough minutes... In two very unfortunate actions, we lost two players... not great. They have further scans to see... how long they're going to be out for... Piero's one looks a little bit more serious I think, but we'll have to wait and see. "

Mikel Arteta

Neither Zubimendi nor Hincapié have started a Premier League game so far this season, but losing both in one foul swoop snatches away a lot of squad depth from Arteta. Considering Arsenal still have to play eight matches between now and 7 November, this is far from ideal.

So, who could benefit? Well, the obvious answer is the man who can be deployed at both left-back and in central midfield: Myles Lewis-Skelly. Hincapié started the Champions League opener against Napoli last month, with Arteta aware, as much as anyone else, that Riccardo Calafiori's minutes must be carefully managed.

Meantime, midfield is the most competitive department in Arteta's squad. Following his match-winner contribution off the bench a the weekend, it is surely only a matter of time until Bruno Guimarães and Declan Rice alongside Martin Ødegaard becomes Arteta's default trio. We would fully expect to see that starting three against Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Sunday.

Arteta also has Mikel Merino vying for a spot but, with Zubimendi out of the picture for an unknown period of time, that'll only further enhance Lewis-Skelly's role. With Arteta needing to balance eight matches in three competitions across the next 26 days, every available player is going to see minutes.

With Forest and then Bayern Munich to come straight after, expect rotation for Tuesday night's visit from les Dogues. Thus, in light of the absentees, we are expecting Lewis-Skelly to return to left-back; Jurriën Timber is the other option for that role, assuming Calafiori is wrapped in proverbial bubble wrap. Either-way, the 20 year old's importance just increased, in light of recent developments.

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