Next week, Arsenal are scheduled to face Manchester City in the game of the season and it looks like defender William Saliba is going to miss this key encounter.
The Gunners are still sitting at the top of the Premier League table but a loss next week and Man City will have the chance to snatch the title from right under their noses.
William Saliba has been recovering from a back injury which he picked up in the second leg of the Europa League round of 16 tie against Sporting CP and there were hopes the defender will be fit to face Man City.
However, Mikel Arteta in his pre-match press conference for the Saints game has hinted that William Saliba is taking longer to recover.
“No big news. The picture hasn’t changed from last week. Regarding William, we still have to wait a little bit more,” Arteta told the press.
“He is not progressing as quick as we hoped. It’s a bit delicate and we want to be very certain when we push him that he is ready to absorb the load and the risk that we will take and at the moment that’s not possible to do.
“I don’t know, it’s a bit early to do [predictions]. Probably next week we are going to have more certainty. There is some evolution, he is doing more activity, but he is not there yet to start to throw him on the pitch at the level that the sessions demand to compete in this league.”
There were rumours that William Saliba was ready to play in the key games even if that meant complicating his injury but there is no way Mikel Arteta is going to allow that.
After Manchester City, Arsenal will face Chelsea and then Newcastle United and as things stand, the centre-back is a question mark for these ties as well.
This was Saliba’s first full season at the club since joining them in 2019 and it’s safe to say that the 22-year-old has been one of the most impactful players for the Gunners. He’s played in 27 league games so far and has a rating of 7.25 out of 10.
Rob Holding will keep partnering Gabriel in central defence but Mikel Arteta will be keeping his fingers crossed because players like Haaland and De Bruyne have the capability to tear Holding to shreds.
This trip to the Etihad Stadium is a must-win for the Gunners because anything other than three points and City will be in the driver’s seat in the Premier League title race.
