Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has delivered an injury update on Declan Rice following Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Tottenham Hotspur at the Emirates.
The England midfielder and Fabio Vieira were substituted off at half-time as Spurs twice came from behind to equalise against the Gunners. They were replaced by Jorginho and Kai Havertz.
Arteta revealed that Rice was forced off due to a back injury, while Vieira’s subbing off was a tactical decision.
When asked if Rice was expected to be on the sidelines for a while, Arteta said: “Hopefully not, we have to assess him. It’s strange for someone like him to come off.”
He added: “Today, we missed five big players. We gave an opportunity to everyone, we have injuries every three games now.”
Arsenal dominated the opening 35 minutes of the game, taking the lead after Bukayo Saka’s effort from 17 yards out ricocheted into the goal off Cristian Romero.
Tottenham found their footing in the game before the half-time whistle and found an equaliser through Son Heung-min after James Maddison spun Saka in the box.
The Gunners re-established their lead shortly after the interval when Saka converted a penalty, which was awarded after Romero was judged to have handled the ball in the box.
Their advantage lasted mere moments, as Maddison robbed half-time substitute Jorginho of possession before playing in Son for his second of the day.
“We are disappointed not to get the three points that’s for sure, especially when you go in front twice, especially the moments when we conceded and we could have scored 2-0 with Gabby Jesus,” Arteta said.
“The second goal affected the team emotionally and it became a transitional game, which is a risk if you play against them. Then we lacked the quality in the final third.”
