Piero Hincapie and Martin Zubimendi will both miss Tuesday’s Champions League game against Lille after injuring their ankles in a training session on the Emirates pitch following Saturday’s 2-1 win over Leeds, Mikel Arteta confirmed at his press conference on October 12, 2026. Both are having further scans, and Arteta said Hincapie’s injury looks the more serious of the two.
The session was arranged for players who had not had enough minutes against Leeds. Hincapie had come on in the 82nd minute and Zubimendi was an unused substitute. Footage from the Emirates showed Hincapie being carried off on the back of third-choice goalkeeper Illan Meslier, clutching his right ankle.
What Arteta said
Arteta explained the thinking behind the session and was blunt about the outcome: “We had a training session planned after the game for the players that didn’t have enough minutes to get everybody the recovery day on Sunday, and to get everybody in the right rhythm, and in two very unfortunate actions, we lost two players.”
He added that it had never happened in his seven years at the club. The logic of the session is sound. Players who sit on the bench still need the work, and giving everyone Sunday off is how a squad stays fresh through a congested month. The outcome is bad luck, and it is bad luck that costs us two players at once.
What it means for Lille and the rest of October
Neither player has been a regular starter. Hincapie has made three Premier League appearances off the bench, though he started our Champions League win over Napoli. Zubimendi has played 89 league minutes this season without a start, having fallen behind Bruno Guimaraes and Myles Lewis-Skelly in the race to partner Declan Rice.
That limits the damage for Lille. It does not limit it for the month. We still have five games to play in October, and William Saliba has not played this season after the back injury he suffered at the World Cup. Losing two squad players to a warm-down is the kind of depth we cannot afford in a run like this one.