Mikel Arteta has indicated that William Saliba will likely miss Arsenal’s Premier League London derby clash against Brentford on Wednesday.
Although Saliba was widely expected to make his seventh consecutive Premier League start, Arteta made an unexpected call, excluding the Frenchman from the squad at Stamford Bridge. Reports later revealed that the 24-year-old had picked up a knock in training.
Arsenal had already been forced to cope without Gabriel Magalhaes for the clash, as the Brazilian continues to recover from a thigh problem that is expected to keep him out for several more weeks.
Following the 1-1 draw, Arteta explained that Saliba was scheduled for further assessment last Monday to determine the seriousness of the issue.
Blow
During his pre-Brentford press conference on Tuesday, Arteta sounded slightly more upbeat regarding the situation. However, he admitted that recovering in time to be involved against the Bees may still prove difficult.
He said, ‘I am not going to be able to help you much today, because we have another training session later, and until that happens, we won’t know what is going to happen with a few of the doubts we have.
‘He [Saliba] had a little niggle, but I think it is going to be a matter of days. So, let’s see if he is able to do that tomorrow.
‘The ankle one (the injury Saliba had in August) was a really random one, a very unlucky action that kept him out for a few weeks. He tried at Anfield, and he wasn’t comfortable, and he had to stay away. And this one as well is very bizarre, but hopefully it will be a matter of days.’
Elsewhere, Arteta also provided an update on Leandro Trossard with the attacker set to make a swift return to action from a knock. The Gunners boss said it’s also a ‘matter of days’ for the Belgian.
Gabriel Magalhaes and Kai Havertz are also due to return within ‘weeks’. Arteta continued:
“Matter of weeks [for Havertz]. Let’s see how it evolves in the next few weeks. He’s doing really well, he’s doing stuff on the pitch, but I think he needs some time.”
“Big Gabi is doing very well as well, but that’s weeks as well.”
Arsenal return to action on Wednesday when Brentford visit the Emirates, and it remains uncertain whether Cristhian Mosquera and Piero Hincapié will be paired again or if Saliba will recover in time to feature.
The two defenders were used together for the first time against Chelsea. Although their display raised no major concerns, that combination still allowed Chelsea to register 11 efforts at goal — only the fifth occasion in any competition this season in which Arsenal have conceded that many attempts.
With Saliba and Magalhaes now effectively ruled out, Arteta will be counting on whichever central-defensive duo is available on Wednesday to cope with Brentford’s direct, physical threat and deal with the lively Igor Thiago, who has scored 11 times in the league — a tally bettered only by Erling Haaland.
