Arsenal players found it 'mentally challenging' against Sporting after Danny Welbeck injury, says Alex Iwobi

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Tony Mogan9 November 2018

Alex Iwobi admitted Arsenal players found it ‘mentally challenging’ to continue after seeing teammate Danny Welbeck stretchered off with a serious injury.

Welbeck was stretchered off less than half an hour into the game and taken to hospital with Unai Emery revealing post-match the club believe he has suffered a broken bone in his ankle.

The injury, which left several players visibly shaken, cast a shadow over the rest of the match with a drab affair unfolding at the Emirates.

While the draw was enough for Arsenal to seal qualification for the knockout stages of the Europa League, Iwobi admitted his side struggled to step up a gear after seeing their teammate go off.

"It is mentally challenging but sometimes it comes with the game, and Danny [Welbeck] has had a lot of injuries," Iwobi told BT Sport post-match.

““Danny’s looked like a serious injury which is not nice to see and our thoughts are with him and also Stephan [Lichtsteiner].

“At half-time we knew we were doing good, we just need to push for the goal and maintain intensity. We had some good chances in the second half and close calls but unfortunately we couldn’t put it in the back of the net. We take the points and qualification for the next round.”

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