Arsenal’s surge towards the Premier League title is really on the charge and it seems like Mikel Arteta is well on course to pip his master Pep Guardiola. Despite not having a squad as extensively built as Manchester City, the Gunners have made a significant impression this season and are truly on the verge of breaking their title drought.

But the final trimester might not be as easy for the team, with plenty of players falling down to injuries. Latest addition to Arsenal’s list is defender William Saliba, who has been immense for the team throughout this season. Saliba was taken off during Arsenal’s second leg of the Europa League round of 16 match against Sporting Lisbon, which Arsenal lost. For more sources about Football news and betting go to Nextbet. 

He was a doubt for the fixture against Crystal Palace and as it turned out, he was not in the squad for their 4-1 win which saw them go further clear on the table having played one game extra. 

L’Equipe reported on Saturday evening that Saliba now faces ‘several weeks’ out with injury, and is likely to miss both games for France against the Netherlands and the Republic of Ireland during the upcoming international break. This would also imply that he is ruled out for the match against Palace, contrary to reports that he could still feature.

The French defender has been such a key player in Arsenal’s Premier League title charge this term, with only his centre-half partner Gabriel in the squad winning more aerial duels than him per game, while he also averages more passes per match than any of his team-mates, and has played in every fixture so far under Arteta.

It will now be interesting to see who the Spaniard partners up with Gabriel at centre-back in the absence of Saliba, with Rob Holding the likeliest candidate after he came on for the 21-year-old against Sporting on Thursday night. Arteta could also call upon January signing Jakub Kiwior, although it is unclear whether he would be willing to play two left-footed central defenders together with Gabriel making up the partnership.