Arsenal captain Kim Little will be forced to miss the remainder of the season due to a hamstring injury sustained during the Women’s Champions League quarter-final win against Bayern Munich. The 32-year-old midfielder was substituted 12 minutes into the second leg, which Arsenal won 2-0 to progress 2-1 on aggregate.
The Gunners are set to face Wolfsburg in the semi-final on Sunday 23 April and 1 May, before travelling to Women’s Super League leaders Manchester United on Wednesday. Currently sitting third in the domestic league, Arsenal are three points adrift of United and have already won a title this season, beating Chelsea in the Continental League Cup for their first trophy in four years.
The news of Little’s injury is a huge blow for Arsenal as they prepare to take on Wolfsburg. Little is one of their best players and has been for several seasons, acting as a focal point in midfield and helping Arsenal tick. It is the latest injury to one of Arsenal’s key players, following the season-ending anterior cruciate ligament injuries to last season’s top-scorer Vivianne Miedema and Ballon d’Or runner-up Beth Mead.
Despite these setbacks, Arsenal have still managed to perform well and showed in the Champions League quarter-final win over Bayern Munich that they can adapt to Little’s absence. England captain Leah Williamson is a good back-up option and is likely to move into midfield from her preferred centre-back position, as she did against Bayern. However, Arsenal’s squad depth is thinning at a time when they remain in a four-way battle for the WSL title and are chasing a second European trophy. This will be a major concern for the club going forward.