Calafiori drops out of Arsenal vs. Brighton at the last minute

Italy international Riccardo Calafiori was forced to drop out of the Arsenal starting line-up at the last minute ahead of their Premier League clash against Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday afternoon. 

The former Bologna centre-back has started in 16 out of 17 Premier League matches for the Gunners so far this season, only missing one through a yellow card suspension against Wolves earlier in December. 

He was once again selected as the left-back in a back four for Arsenal’s Premier League match against Brighton on Saturday, but pulled up during the warm up and was spotted heading down the tunnel shortly afterwards. 

It has since been confirmed by the club that Calafiori will not be able to feature against Brighton on Saturday, and that he has been replaced in the starting line-up by England international Myles Lewis-Skelly. This last-minute switch was confirmed less than 15 minutes before kick-off.

Further updates surrounding the exact nature of Calafiori’s issue are expected in due course.