Arteta said the four warm‑up injuries – including those of Riccardo Calafiori, William Saliba and Bukayo Saka – are highly unusual and are being examined internally.
The incidents forced lineup reshuffles, such as moving Myles Lewis‑Skelly back to left‑back and starting Saka in midfield, and have altered Arteta’s pre‑kick‑off mindset.