Lionesses star Beth Mead was a late withdrawal from Arsenal's starting XI as they closed out their U.S. pre-season tour against Chelsea on Sunday.
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Mead pulls out of Arsenal XI during warm-upGunners finished U.S. tour on Sunday vs ChelseaBut were without Lioness 10 days before European qualifiersWHAT HAPPENED?
Mead maintained her place in Jonas Eidevall's line-up after starting against the Washington Spirit last weekend, with the coach changing things elsewhere as Frida Maanum, Kathrine Kuhl and the academy trio of Vivienne Lia, Katie Reid and Freya Godfrey all made way. In came Laura Wienroither, Steph Catley, Kyra Cooney-Cross, Caitlin Foord and summer signing Rosa Kafaji, who impressed in that victory over the Spirit.
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However, a late change had to be made before kick-off in Washington D.C. as Mead had to pull out of the team after the warm-up, with her place on the right wing taken by the versatile Kuhl.
WHAT ARSENAL SAID
In a post on, Arsenal did not offer much detail on the England star's absence, but simply said: "Kuhl has replaced Mead in the XI as a precaution following the warm-up."
DID YOU KNOW?
The Gunners were also without another Lioness on Sunday, as Lotte Wubben-Moy was missing from the squad. The defender played 45 minutes off the bench against the Spirit last week, but could not feature in the final match of the U.S. tour due to a quad problem. Eidevall told reporters after the match that her absence was also 'precautionary'.