Mikel Arteta has suggested William Saliba is still ‘a matter of days’ away from returning for Arsenal, placing the defender’s involvement against Brentford in serious doubt.
Saliba travelled with the rest of Arsenal’s squad to Stamford Bridge at the weekend and had been expected to make his seventh straight start in the Premier League.
But there was a big surprise as Saliba was left out of Arteta’s XI to take on title rivals Chelsea – and it subsequently came to light that the defender had sustained a knock in training.
The Gunners were already without Gabriel Magalhaes for Sunday’s top-of-the-table clash, with the Brazilian nursing a thigh problem and still ‘some weeks’ from his return to first-team action.
In their place, Arteta opted for a new-look centre-back pairing of Cristhian Mosquera and Piero Hincapie, who both completed moves to Arsenal in the summer transfer window.
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While Mosquera and Hincapie performed admirably in the 1-1 draw given the circumstances, Saliba’s importance to Arsenal’s aspirations this season – especially with Gabriel missing – means fans have been anxiously awaiting updates on the Frenchman’s fitness.
In late August, Saliba was forced off the field with an ankle sprain just five minutes into Arsenal’s one and only defeat of the season away to Liverpool. He did not feature in the club’s next two game against Nottingham Forest and Athletic Bilbao.
‘I am not going to be able to help you much today. We have another training session later today,’ Arteta told reporters when pressed for an update on Saliba on Tuesday morning.
‘He had a little niggle. I think it is going to be a matter of days.’
More to follow.