Mikel Arteta says Arsenal will have to wait to discover the full extent of goalkeeper Bernd Leno's injury, but does not believe that Brighton striker Neal Maupay intentionally hurt the goalkeeper.
Leno received lengthy treatment at the Amex Stadium on Saturday and was stretchered off just 40 minutes into the Premier League contest after appearing to sustain a nasty knee problem when landing awkwardly following a collision with Seagulls striker Maupay.
It was the latest in a series of selection blows to have struck Arsenal in what has been a miserable return to top-flight action this week, with both Granit Xhaka and Pablo Mari suffering injuries in the 3-0 defeat at Manchester City on Wednesday and David Luiz sent off.
The likes of Lucas Torreira, Cedric Soares, Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Calum Chambers are already sidelined, with the Gunners facing something of a defensive crisis ahead of another away fixture at Southampton on Thursday.
Providing an update on Leno, who appeared to leave the ground on crutches, coach Arteta said: "We don't know [the full extent]. He was in a lot of pain but we will have to wait until tomorrow to see how bad the damage is."
Leno furiously pointed a finger at Maupay as he was being taken off the pitch, while several Arsenal players confronted the French forward - who scored a decisive last-gasp goal in a 2-1 triumph for Brighton that represented their first league win of the calendar year - in angry scenes following the full-time whistle.
And while Arteta disagreed with the former Brentford star's post-match jibe that his players lack humility, he does not believe Maupay damaged Leno on purpose.
"I believe that no player has the intention to hurt anybody and I believe in this case it’s exactly the same, it was unfortunate," he said.
"Bernd’s injury doesn’t look good and we will have to assess him probably tomorrow, but it can happen on a football pitch.
"It’s a knee injury, I think he had a hyperextension of the knee and we have to assess the damage."
