The Arsenal games William Saliba will miss as Mikel Arteta dealt injury blow

William Saliba is expected to be out for another month with the injury he suffered in Arsenal’s Premier League defeat to Liverpool.

The Arsenal centre-back started at Anfield but only lasted five minutes before hobbling off with an ankle injury.

Saliba was replaced by Cristhian Mosquera, who made just his second appearance for the Gunners following his £13m summer move from Valencia.

Speaking after the 1-0 defeat, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta said: ‘William twisted his ankle during the warm-up, and he came in and he said he believed that he could carry on and play but he strayed away in the first two actions.

‘I could see that he couldn’t cope and we had to get him out, unfortunately.

‘But thank God we have Mosquera, which we put in for the first time in the Premier League, his debut, not expecting it at Anfield and I think he was really, really good.’

Asked if he was ‘worried’ about Saliba’s injury, Arteta added: ‘I am because you cannot play a game of that stature. After you try, that means that there is something wrong.’

Arteta was right to be concerned as French outlet L’Equipe claim Saliba will be out for another three to four weeks with the injury setback.

Saliba missed France’s World Cup qualifier against Ukraine on Friday night and will also miss Tuesday’s Group D clash against Iceland.

If reports in France are correct, Saliba will miss at least three more Arsenal games, with the Gunners facing Nottingham Forest immediately after the international break.

Saliba will likely be absent for Arsenal’s Champions League opener against Athletic Bilbao and a huge Premier League clash against Manchester City.

The Gunners then begin their Carabao Cup campaign against Port Vale before travelling to St James’ Park to face Newcastle United at the end of the month.

Stephen Smith, CEO and founder of Kitman Labs which specialises in injury welfare and performance analytics working with the Premier League, was initially optimistic about Saliba’s injury but the problem appears worse than first believed.

‘Everybody at Arsenal will be wiping their brow on that one because of his importance to the team,’ Smith told Metro.

‘It appeared innocuous. Not to say there aren’t challenges with a ligament sprain but if it were something like a hamstring injury it would be something they would have to be even more careful with.

‘With this, they will be able to get that right quite quickly, I would have thought. They will be able to protect it and strap it up if needed and be able to get back out there relatively quickly.

‘It didn’t appear to be a significant sprain, we would expect to see him back out there within two to three weeks.

‘It depends on how much swelling was there, how much pain he was in the day after. If swelling was minimal and pain was relatively innocuous that will give him a huge chance.’

Saliba’s enforced absence will likely lead to more minutes for summer signing Mosquera, though Jurrien Timber and Riccardo Calafiori are also centre-back options for Arteta.

Reacting to Saliba’s injury update on ESPN, ex-Manchester City defender Nedum Onuoha said: ‘He’s very, very good but I think Arsenal would be able to find a way to replace him.

‘They’re still very solid defensively and the players coming in are probably of a higher level than they’ve had in previous years.

‘It will be a blow but one month of no William Saliba is manageable for Arsenal.’

Former Chelsea midfielder Craig Burley added: ‘Mosquera, who they signed in the summer, is a centre-half and he came on at Anfield. Timber and Calafiori can also play there.

‘It’s not ideal but this is why Arsenal have got the squad depth they have now, for situations like this.’

For more stories like this, check our sport page.

Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.