William Saliba could be set for a frustrating spell for Arsenal on the sidelines after he suffered a minor hamstring injury at the end of the North London Derby. This could mean that he will miss the important clash with Manchester City at the start of February if he has not recovered in time.
Mikel Arteta gave varying responses before and after the game against Aston Villa. Before the match he made it appear less serious but asked after the game again in the post-match press conference there was more pessimism in his tone.
Arteta has used Thomas Partey at right-back and moved Jurrien Timber inside alongside Gabriel but defensive errors were punished in the draw with Aston Villa. The record with Partey there is poor. Asking Arteta after the game he dismissed the record and claimed he could not judge a performance on one player playing one position.
The player who would be the ideal replacement for Saliba is sadly also injured – Ben White. The England international underwent a knee procedure to correct a persistent problem which had been plaguing the full-back.
Speaking at the start of the year before the draw with Brighton, Arteta provided the last update on the defender and another option in Takehiro Tomiyasu. “Ben is still a few weeks away and Tomi again has done some stuff on the pitch but now because it’s been a long-term injury we need to see how quickly he can progress and how he reacts.
