{"id":1147794,"date":"2020-06-18T16:44:18","date_gmt":"2020-06-18T15:44:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/?p=1147794"},"modified":"2020-06-25T12:47:13","modified_gmt":"2020-06-25T11:47:13","slug":"arsenal-injury-news-granit-xhaka-pablo-mari-man-city","status":"publish","type":"features","link":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/arsenal-injury-news-granit-xhaka-pablo-mari-man-city\/","title":{"rendered":"A biomechanical breakdown of what went wrong for Arsenal vs Man City"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Premier League is back, but unfortunately for Arsenal fans (myself included) the restart was met with a 3-0 loss at the Etihad vs Manchester City, the team\u2019s 25th consecutive winless game game away to a top-six rival.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Although the Gunners have a variety of issues that need to be hammered out, Wedneday\u2019s result could be whittled down to two things: injuries and David Luiz.<\/span><\/p>\n

Gunners\u2019 double injury blow<\/b><\/h2>\n

\"Arsenal's<\/p>\n

Just five minutes into the match, the team suffered their first injury of the restart with midfielder Granit Xhaka suffering an apparent right ankle injury. Based on the replays, Xhaka looked to have a prototypical inversion (inward) sprain that stresses the ligaments on the lateral (outer) aspect of the ankle, specifically the anterior talofibular ligament (ATFL).<\/p>\n

\"Ankle<\/p>\n

Xhaka\u2019s return timeline will depend on the severity, with a typical range of seven to ten days for a mild grade 1 tear (every sprain is a tear, so don\u2019t let that word scare you) and all the way to six or more weeks for a grade 3 severe tear.<\/p>\n

To add to the problems created by this, centre-back Pablo Mari went down clutching his lower left leg in the 20th minute. This injury is less straightforward than Xhaka\u2019s as it involved a series of events: Mari first had an incident in which Raheem Sterling rolled onto his left ankle forcing it into external (outward) rotation; this is the typical mechanism of injury for a high ankle \u201csyndesmotic\u201d sprain, but Mari was able to play on.<\/p>\n

However, in the 23th minute, while turning to close down Kyle Walker, Mari came up limping. After going to ground and conversing with the physio, he pointed at his lower calf area and also the lateral part of his ankle. According to the Athletic, Mari has been ruled out for the season with a left ankle ligament\/tendon injury with surgery possibly needed. For more information on the injury, the surgery considerations, and what it means for Mari\u2019s future at Arsenal, you can watch the following video:<\/p>\n