Football
Mikel Arteta worried that William Saliba’s hamstring injury may be worse than first thought
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Mikel Arteta provided a William Saliba injury update on Saturday afternoon after the Gunners drew against Aston Villa, confessing that the Frenchman’s hamstring injury could keep him out for longer than expected.
William Saliba Injury Update
William Saliba missed out on Arsenal’s draw against Aston Villa with a hamstring injury, as Mikel Arteta revealed before the game that his star defender had picked up a knock during a North London derby win in the week.
Without Saliba Arsenal struggled on Saturday afternoon, and the Gunners weren’t able to hold on to a two goal advantage at home, as Villa turned the result around late in the second half.
If Saliba had played on Saturday, it is hard to believe that the side currently second in the Premier League would have slipped up as badly.
Speaking after the disappointing draw against Villa, Mikel Arteta updated fans on Saliba’s injury with the defender’s condition more severe than first thought.
“I think tomorrow we will have more information, we will have another test on him and we will be more clear about that.” “Yeah, for sure, especially with the numbers that we have in the squad and looking at our bench – very worried.”
Arsenal fans will be even more worried by the Frenchman’s injury when they take a look at the statistics without Saliba in the squad, as the Gunners have a 38% win percentage without the defender – compared to a 72% win rate when the 23-year-old is in the team.
In place of Saliba Arsenal played Jurrien Timber at centre back on Saturday, with Thomas Partey again moved to right back as injuries continue to plague Arteta’s back line.
Is Arsenal’s Season Over Without Saliba?
Arsenal could well be done for this season already and we’re still only in January, but it is hard to see them matching the levels of Liverpool or even Nottingham Forest without the likes of Bukayo Saka and William Saliba in their ranks.
As well as Saliba and Saka, Arsenal are also missing Ben White (knee surgery), Takehiro Tomiyasu (knee), Riccardo Calafiori (muscle), Gabriel Jesus (ACL) who are all long-term absentees.
When speaking to the media postgame, Arteta sent a not so subtle message to the Arsenal board as the Spaniard struggles with squad depth during a January window where the Gunners have made no gs.
“I think when you look at the performances, I don’t know how many teams are playing at this level in the league. When you look at the bench you probably say, we are very, very short.”
The gap to Liverpool in the Premier League now stands at six points, with the league leaders still having an important game in hand over everyone else.
1️⃣ Liverpool earn a late, late win over Brentford
2️⃣ Arsenal squander a two-goal lead against Aston VillaA day of contrasting fortunes for the Premier League’s top two teams pic.twitter.com/pCR8RI6lLp
— Premier League (@premierleague) January 18, 2025
Without their main core it is hard to see Arsenal competing in the league or Champions League this year, with the Gunners looking set for yet another season without a trophy.