Why Isn’t William Saliba Playing Against Chelsea for Arsenal? Is He Injured?

Arsenal defender William Saliba was not included in Mikel Arteta’s squad for the match against Chelsea on Sunday evening.

The Gunners headed to Stamford Bridge aiming to maintain their four-point lead at the top of the Premier League, with Chelsea trailing by just six points.

However, the north London club faced the challenge with a significantly altered defence.

You may like

Why is William Saliba not playing for Arsenal against Chelsea?

Saliba is now on the injury list alongside his centre-back partner Gabriel, leaving Arsenal without their two main defenders.

In their absence, 23-year-old Piero Hincapie and 21-year-old Cristhian Mosquera have taken on defensive duties, both of whom joined the club this summer.

Arteta confirmed that Saliba's absence is due to an injury sustained during training, which he hopes will be short-lived.

“Yesterday in training, he was comfortable, so we need to explore a little bit more what happened,” Arteta told Sky Sports. “But certainly, he wasn’t fit to be involved today.

“I don’t believe it’s anything serious, but it’s enough to prevent him from participating in such a game.”

Despite the inexperience of his replacements, the Arsenal manager emphasized that he has complete confidence in all his players.

While Arteta's comments about Saliba seem optimistic, Gabriel may be sidelined for a longer period, as the Gunners coach indicated last week that the Brazilian would be out for “weeks.”

You may like

According to eScored, these are crucial times for Arsenal.

They appear to have the strongest squad in the Premier League, and possibly in Europe, with only unexpected incidents like this standing between them and potential silverware this season.

Fortunately, the Gunners made astute signings over the summer, allowing Arteta to utilize the resources he has at his disposal throughout the season.

Saliba is valued at €80m, as per Transfermarkt.