“Significant loss” – Injury concern ahead of Athletic Club v Arsenal

Arsenal will take on Athletic Club Bilbao in the first Champions League clash of this season at the Estadio San Mamés on Tuesday.

The Basque club could be without Nico Williams for the European tie against Arsenal, after the star picked up an injury in Spain’s World Cup qualifier win over Turkey last week.

He was forced off the pitch before the break and Athletic have confirmed the winger has injured his left adductor muscle. This forced him to miss the La Liga club’s weekend clash against Deportivo Alavés.

Deia spoke to former Athletic star Joseba Etxeberria to discuss the upcoming Champions League tie. They inform him that Williams could miss the Arsenal clash and then asked ‘will his absence be noticeable’ tomorrow.

Responding to that, he said: “Yes. Nico is a player who makes difference, but Athletic has many alternatives, and despite being a very significant loss, they have players who can replace him, and I have absolute confidence.”

The 23-year-old has managed a goal and two assists from three games this season, after scoring 11 times and registering seven assists last season.

Etxeberria represented Athletic between 1995 and 2010 and explains why he feels it’ll be a difficult for his former club to break Mikel Arteta’s side. The Gunners picked nine points from four league games and conceded only once, in their 1-0 defeat to league leaders Liverpool.

“It’s very difficult, because they’re a team with very clear mechanisms. They’re a very dominant team, very well-developed,” Etxeberria explained.

“Arteta’s idea is perfectly executed because they’re a team that can do a lot of damage with positional attacks while in the opponent’s half. But at the same time, they mount extremely fast counterattacks. They’re a great team.”

“But I think Athletic has a lot of arguments, especially at San Mamés, and they’ll have a chance to win.”

Etxeberria, who is now managing Real Murcia, insists he won’t settle for a draw against Arsenal before kick-off.

“No, despite who the opponent is. Depending on how the match goes, you might settle for a draw, but not a priori. We have to be aware that Arsenal is a more powerful team than Athletic, but San Mamés is everything, and you never know what can happen,” he added.