Arsenal had just watched the good news roll in: a 2-1 comeback win over Leeds, keeping pace with Manchester City at the top of the Premier League and a Champions League night at the Emirates to look forward to. Then Mikel Arteta sat down for his pre-Lille press conference and delivered an Arsenal double injury update nobody saw coming. Piero Hincapié and Martín Zubimendi, two players who barely featured in that Leeds win, are both out. They were hurt in a post-match training session.
What Happened to Hincapié and Zubimendi
The session was not a punishment or a glorified warm-down. It is Arsenal’s standard routine: players who did not get enough minutes in the match itself play a small-sided game afterward, so the whole squad stays sharp between games. Hincapié came on for the final eight minutes against Leeds. Zubimendi did not leave the bench. Both joined the small-sided session, and both came out of it with ankle injuries.
Footage later showed Hincapié clutching his right ankle and being piggy-backed off the pitch by third-choice goalkeeper Illan Meslier. Arteta confirmed both players will miss Tuesday’s Champions League visit of Lille, with further scans planned to determine how long they will be out. “Piero’s one looks a little bit more serious,” he said.
Arteta’s Frustrated Reaction
Arteta was not defensive about the practice. He was simply annoyed at the outcome. “They didn’t happen once last season, and we did it 37 times,” he said. “It has never happened in seven years that I have been here.” He added that if he had a crystal ball, he would have sent the players to the jacuzzi instead.
That is the part that makes this injury story genuinely unusual. It is not a tackle or a bad landing during a match. It is two players getting hurt in a recovery-focused session designed to protect them, at the exact moment Arsenal are trying to balance domestic and European football. The temptation now, Arteta admitted, is to scrap the routine entirely. His answer to that was blunt: if players never train, they will not get injured, but when they are asked to play, they will have no rhythm and no impact on the game.
What The Arsenal Double Injury Means for the Lille Game
The absences leave Arsenal thinner in defense and midfield than they would like. Hincapié had been providing cover and competition in the back line, while Zubimendi offers control and quality in central areas. There was slightly better news elsewhere: William Saliba has resumed individual training as he continues his recovery from a back injury, with Arteta managing his load carefully after more than a week back on the grass.
Arsenal are also dealing with the lingering effects of a bruising international break, with both Hincapié and Zubimendi having already returned early from their national teams before the Leeds game. That history makes this latest setback feel somewhat avoidable from an Arsenal perspective.
For now, Arsenal must prepare for Lille without two players who were expected to feature, and hope the scans bring good news. In a season where the fixture list is constantly testing squad depth, even the strangest injuries carry real consequences.
Arsenal Suffer Bizarre Double Injury Blow Day Before Lille Clash