Mikel Arteta answers Erik ten Hag’s injury tally as he goes through every Arsenal fitness…

Mikel Arteta responded to comments from Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag as his exhausted Arsenal squad lost to Sporting on Thursday.

Ten Hag complained about Arsenal’s in-form lead Gunners lost Saliba and Tomiyasu in Sporting defeat Arteta responded by listing all injuries

WHAT HAPPENED? Speaking after Alejandro Garnacho’s recent injury woes, Ten Hag insinuated that Arteta had not been offered far from a full squad, while he had to settle for a limited squad. Early injuries to Takehiro Tomiyasu and William Saliba during Thursday’s Europa League match quickly proved the Dutch manager wrong, and that proved costly for Arsenal as they went down on penalties in the round of 16.

 WHAT THEY SAID: Arteta was keen to clarify something after the game and listed all his side’s issues throughout the campaign.

“We’ve had injuries all season,” the Gunners boss told reporters. “We had Emile [Smith Rowe] for four months, [Gabriel] Jesus for four months, Alex [Zinchenko] for two and a half months, Thomas [Partey] for a month and a half, Eddie [Nketiah] for a month and a half. We had a lot of injuries, but we made it.

OVERVIEW: Despite Ten Hag’s complaints, Arsenal have handled such big losses well, as evidenced by their five-point lead at the top of the Premier League. Arteta appears to have made the most of a thin squad, while recruitment has also brought in names with Premier League experience. But they struggled to cope with defeats to Tomiyasu and Saliba on Thursday when Gabriel Martinelli missed the crucial penalty, meaning the Gunners’ wait for a European trophy continues.

DID YOU KNOW? Arsenal have not won in their last five knockout matches at the Emirates Stadium in the Europa League (D3 N2) since beating Valencia 3-1 in May 2019.

WHAT IS THE FUTURE FOR ARSENAL? Before the break in international football, Arsenal will host Crystal Palace in their only Premier League game on Sunday.