News Focus
- Riccardo Calafiori starts for Arsenal against Burnley on Monday night
- The Italy defender overcame fitness doubts to make the XI
- Arsenal aim to close gap in Premier League title race
- Burnley have already been relegated from the top flight
- Calafiori has featured 34 times this season despite injury problems
Italy international Riccardo Calafiori has earned a place in Arsenal’s starting line-up for Monday’s Premier League match against Burnley. Manager Mikel Arteta selected the defender despite recent worries over his physical condition.
The North London club are fighting for their first league championship in twenty years. They face a Burnley side that has already dropped down to the Championship next season.
Calafiori left the pitch at half-time during the recent 1-0 victory over West Ham. This raised fears about another injury problem for the 22-year-old.
Injuries have limited the former Bologna star throughout this campaign. He has still managed to play 34 matches across all competitions. Arteta has often used other players such as Hincapie and Lewis-Skelly at left-back when Calafiori was unavailable.
However, medical staff gave the green light for the defender to play at Turf Moor. Arteta chose a powerful team for this important fixture.
Burnley will start with the following players: Weiss, Walker, Esteve, Tuanzebe, Pires, Luis, Ugochukwu, Tchaouna, Mejbri, Anthony, and Flemming.