Arsenal have two very important games in the next week and according to the latest reports, William Saliba is not expected to play in either of these.
The centre-back has been out with a back injury for more than a month and initially, it was thought the injury is not serious and that he will be back in no time.
However, things have not turned out as planned because William Saliba is taking longer to recover and now journalist David Ornstein is claiming that the defender will miss the Man City as well as the Chelsea tie.
A report in the Daily Mail is also suggesting that Saliba has ‘structural damage’ in his back so if he is rushed back into action then things could get more complicated.
The Gunners face Manchester City on Wednesday in what could turn out to be the title-deciding match of the season and there’s no way William Saliba is going to be ready and available for this encounter.
Mikel Arteta is yet to provide an update on the defender’s recovery but we don’t think he will be ready for the Chelsea game either.
A few rumours have suggested that the 22-year-old is desperate to play again this season, even if that means aggravating the injury but after the fresh assessments, there’s no way he will be back on the pitch any time soon.
Rob Holding is currently playing in place of William Saliba which is why there’s no need to hit the panic button but if the centre-back is really out for the rest of the season then Mikel Arteta will be under some pressure.
The Arsenal manager is already working with a very small squad and if someone as influential as Saliba is missing then it will be very hard for the North London side to hold onto that top spot until the final week of the season.
The result on Wednesday will set the course for Arsenal for the remainder of the season because if they can win at the Etihad then they will once again be back on track to lift the trophy. Chelsea are in really poor form this season so beating them (with or without William Saliba) won’t be too big a task.
