William Saliba is not going to be fit for Arsenal’s encounter against Brighton and now even Oleksandr Zinchenko could miss out.
Saliba has been recovering from a back injury since the middle of March and Mikel Arteta has made it clear that the centre-back is not going to be available for Sunday’s home game.
The manager told the press(h/t Arsenal’s official website): “We have another session tomorrow before the Brighton game, and we are trying to get players back for that. Today we haven’t trained on the pitch, so we’ll know more tomorrow.
“With William, it’s for sure that he’s not going to be fit for this game and we are doubting whether he will be fit for the next game as well.
“But we want to keep the hope going and make sure that we give ourselves the best chance of having them back.”
Arsenal have three games remaining and we highly doubt if Saliba will play any further part this season. Rob Holding and Kiwior have held the fort well in Saliba’s absence so Arteta won’t be too worried about the centre-back role but his main concern now will be with the injury to Oleksandr Zinchenko.
Zinchenko played only 61 minutes against Newcastle United before being taken off with a calf injury and by the looks of it, he will be touch and go this weekend.
Keiran Tierney is his direct replacement but if Zinchenko is not available then it will be a major blow for Arsenal. The former Man City full-back has provided only two league assists this season but he’s one of the leaders in the team.
Tierney has played second-fiddle to Zinchenko during the ongoing campaign but the Scottish international will now get to start on Sunday. Unless there’s a change in formation, Facundo Buonanotte will play on Tierney’s flank and the January signing is yet to find his foot in the Premier League. He’s scored one and assisted one in eight league games so Keiran Tierney should be able to deal with him.
Defence wise Tierney does not have too many issues but it’s on the front foot that Zinchenko is miles ahead of his teammate.
Arsenal seems to have adapted to William Saliba’s absence but Oleksandr Zinchenko’s injury is something new for them. It will be interesting to see how the Gunners cope with this, especially against Brighton side who are seventh on the league table and have scored 63 goals.
