Erik ten Hag will watch Arsenal’s Europa League match against Sporting Portugal with great interest on Thursday evening. The manager of Manchester United, who held his team up against Real Betis (0-1 win) earlier in the evening, said this week that the title competitor from London has hardly any injuries this season. Against Sporting, two basic players dropped out at Arsenal within twenty minutes: Takehiro Tomiyasu and William Saliba.
“When I look at Arsenal, they almost always have their full squad available,” Ten Hag said in the run-up to the Europa League match against Betis on Wednesday. The quote caused a lot of bad blood with the supporters of Arsenal. The Londoners have been especially bothered in recent months by the absence of Gabriel Jesus, who sustained a serious ankle injury at the World Cup. Ten Hag himself currently has to miss Antony, Anthony Martial, Alejandro Garnacho, Christian Eriksen and Donny van de Beek.
??? Erik ten Hag: “Arsenal almost all the time, their squad is totally available” 20 minutes into Arsenal vs Sporting Lisbon ?? pic.twitter.com/KxxH1jO3YY
— SPORTbible (@sportbible) March 16, 2023
Against Sporting, Tomiyasu seemed to twist his leg badly and Saliba had to hop off the field moments later. Behind both names will be a huge question mark in the Emirates Stadium for Sunday, when Crystal Palace comes to visit. Saliba in particular is an indispensable link for Arsenal this season, where Eddie Nketiah and Mohamed Eleny are also currently recovering from an injury. Arsenal defend a five-point lead over Manchester City in the Premier League. Ten Hag and United are eleven points behind in third place.
| No. | Team | m | W | G | v | +/- | Pnt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 27 | 21 | 3 | 3 | 37 | 66 |
| 2 | Manchester City | 27 | 19 | 4 | 4 | 42 | 61 |
| 3 | Manchester United | 26 | 15 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 50 |
| 4 | Tottenham Hotspur | 27 | 15 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 48 |
| 5 | Newcastle United | 25 | 11 | 11 | 3 | 19 | 44 |
| 6 | Liverpool | 26 | 12 | 6 | 8 | 18 | 42 |
| 7 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 25 | 12 | 6 | 7 | 15 | 42 |
| 8 | Brentford | 26 | 10 | 11 | 5 | 9 | 41 |
| 9 | Fulham | 27 | 11 | 6 | 10 | 1 | 39 |
| 10 | Chelsea | 26 | 10 | 7 | 9 | 1 | 37 |
| 11 | Aston Villa | 26 | 10 | 5 | 11 | -7 | 35 |
| 12 | Crystal Palace | 27 | 6 | 9 | 12 | -13 | 27 |
| 13 | Wolverhampton W. | 27 | 7 | 6 | 14 | -17 | 27 |
| 14 | Nottingham Forest | 26 | 6 | 8 | 12 | -26 | 26 |
| 15 | Everton | 27 | 6 | 7 | 14 | -18 | 25 |
| 16 | Leicester City | 26 | 7 | 3 | 16 | -9 | 24 |
| 17 | West Ham United | 26 | 6 | 6 | 14 | -10 | 24 |
| 18 | AFC Bournemouth | 26 | 6 | 6 | 14 | -26 | 24 |
| 19 | Leeds United | 26 | 5 | 8 | 13 | -11 | 23 |
| 20 | Southampton | 27 | 6 | 4 | 17 | -23 | 22 |
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