Major concern as Villarreal star Chukwueze stretchered off against Arsenal

The 21-year-old was taken off in the first half after suffering an injury and was replaced by Yeremi Pino

Villarreal star Samuel Chukwueze was forced out of his side’s Europa League encounter at Arsenal on Thursday in what could be a major blow for the Yellow Submarine.

The Nigeria international who was a threat to the Gunners’ backline was having a fine game before going down with an injury.

Before his knock off the ball, the youngster almost gave the Spaniards an early lead after four minutes.

Francis Coquelin switched the play over to the right and Mario Gaspar knocked the ball down for the African, who saw his well-struck left-footed shot from the edge of the box tipped for a corner kick by Bernd Leno.

After Chukwueze was attended to by medics, he was subsequently replaced by Spanish teenager Yeremi Pino in the 28th minute.

Without the Super Eagle, Unai Emery’s men ensured that the first half at the Emirates Stadium ended in a 0-0 draw.

At the time of filing this report, his team was hoping the injury will not be serious. 

Having lost 2-1 in the first leg semi-final clash at Estadio de la Ceramica, Mikel Arteta’s men know that anything short of victory would end their aspiration of reaching the final billed for May 26 at the Stadium Miejski in Gdansk.

Chukwueze has been terrific for Emery’s side, scoring three goals in five Spanish elite division matches – a feat that saw him nominated for the La Liga Player of the Month award for April.

There, he will compete with Barcelona captain Lionel Messi, Real Madrid’s Thibaut Courtois, and Atletico Madrid’s Angel Correa for the individual accolade.

Other contestants are Sevilla’s Fernando, Real Betis’ Claudio Bravo and Fernando Pacheco of Deportivo Alaves.

His notable contributions for the La Liga outfit have not gone unnoticed by his Spanish manager Emery.

“He’s a very young player who has to find consistency,” Emery told  the club website  about Chukwueze. “We need to take steps forward with him and be demanding.

“He’s a footballer with great quality. He has a lot of talent, but he needs to improve in front of the goal. Today he put in a great performance and managed to score.”