Riccardo Calafiori gingerly walking off the pitch must have been close to the last thing Mikel Arteta wanted to see at Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night.
Arsenal have been hit hard by injuries and losing the Italian would be a real hammer blow ahead of Sunday’s Premier League showdown with Liverpool.
The Gunners will definitely be without the suspended William Saliba, while Jurrien Timber was absent again for the 1-0 Champions League win against Shakhtar Donetsk.
Takehiro Tomiyasu, who has kept Mohamed Salah quiet in the past, is also out after having a setback in his return from a knee injury.
Arteta has built this Arsenal team on its stern defence, but he may now be forced into a rethink against Liverpool as injuries and suspensions take their toll.
Here, Standard Sport assesses his options…
Partey at right-back
Arteta would never admit it, but one has to wonder if the second half against Shakhtar was a dry run for Sunday.
After hooking Ben White at the break, Arteta moved Thomas Partey to right-back and that could be where the midfielder is forced to play against Liverpool.
With no Saliba, and possibly no Timber, there is a good chance Arteta moves White to centre-back alongside Gabriel given the pair formed a solid partnership during the 2021-22 season.
Partey has played at right-back before, including during his days at Atletico Madrid, and he put in a steady display against Shakhtar.
But the Ghana international was not as effective as he was in the middle of the park in the first half, while there would surely also be concerns about him going up against Cody Gakpo or Luis Diaz on the Liverpool wing.
Liverpool’s pace on the counter is one of their biggest weapons and Partey could be exposed in wide areas.
Possible defence: Partey, White, Gabriel, Kiwior
Kiwior at centre-back
If Timber is out and Arteta wants to keep White at right-back, then Jakub Kiwior could be parachuted into the heart of defence.
The Poland international performed well at left-back last season, enjoying a run in the team around the turn of year, but he is a centre-back by trade.
Kiwior came on at Bournemouth last Saturday when Saliba was sent off and played alongside Gabriel.
It would leave Arsenal with two left-footed centre-backs, which is not ideal for how they want to play out from the back.
Kiwior also had a difficult game at Bournemouth, with his loose back-pass leading to David Raya giving away a penalty.
The 24-year-old played against Liverpool last season, coming on at half-time in a 3-1 win, and performed well.
Possible defence: White, Kiwior, Gabriel, Zinchenko
Lewis-Skelly at left-back
It would be a huge show of faith by Arteta, but he could opt to start Myles Lewis-Skelly.
Such a scenario seems unlikely, but it must be noted that Arteta turned to Lewis-Skelly against Shakhtar when Calafiori went off injured.
Oleksandr Zinchenko is only just back from calf injury, which may partly explain that, but the 17-year-old has also been impressing lately and could easily have moved up the pecking order.
Lewis-Skelly offers a lot of what Arteta wants from his left-back in that he is quick and strong, and good enough on the ball that he can tuck into midfield.
He came through the ranks as a central midfielder, but the club have converted him into a left-back.
There are very high hopes for Lewis-Skelly, but handing him his first Premier League start against Salah would be baptism of fire.
It would be one of the boldest selection calls Arteta has made.
Possible defence: Partey, White, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly
