SETTABLOID

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has admitted he is “very worried” about the hamstring injury suffered by centre-back William Saliba.

Saliba missed Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Aston Villa with what Arteta initially described as a “minor” issue, but the boss confessed after the final whistle that he did not actually know the extent of the defender’s condition.

“I think tomorrow we will have more information, we will have another test on him and we will be more clear about that,” Arteta admitted.

Asked whether he was concerned about seeing Saliba join the likes of Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Jesus on the treatment table, Arteta added: “Yeah, for sure, especially with the numbers that we have in the squad and looking at our bench – very worried.”

Defence is a particular area of concern for Arteta, who was also without Riccardo Calafiori, Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu for the visit of Villa. Thomas Partey, a midfielder by trade, had to drop to right-back to help make up the numbers.

While there are few issues in midfield, Arsenal are also struggling in attack. Saka and Jesus are long-term absentees, while Ethan Nwaneri is currently unavailable, leaving Arteta forced to admit a new striker should be signed before the end of the January transfer window.

Kai Havertz certainly delivered a much improved performance in Arsenal’s 2-2 draw with Aston Villa at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday evening.

Predominantly Havertz’s display was better appreciated by Arsenal fans because he was able to score, putting the Gunners 2-0 ahead early in the second half.

Havertz fired a low drive at Emi Martinez, one that the Aston Villa keeper may have hoped to do better with.

But ultimately the away side were still able to cancel out that goal, earning a 2-2 draw at the Emirates.

Unai Emery praised Arsenal after full-time, but ultimately fans in N5 were still going home disappointed.

Although, when Havertz deflected Mikel Merino’s strike into the net late on the make it 3-2, there was briefly a moment of elation in north London.

Ollie Watkins was the thorn in Arsenal’s side once again during their 2-2 draw with Aston Villa on Saturday evening.

Watkins scored Villa’s second to bring the game level at 2-2 with his strike thundering past David Raya, meaning that Arsenal had surrendered a two-goal lead in less than 10 minutes.

Given how depleted his squad was, Mikel Arteta’s side did give a good account of themselves from an offensive point of view, but William Saliba’s absence was glaringly obvious at the back.

Thomas Partey shouldn’t be playing as a right-back, but Arteta ultimately had little choice given that he was without four first-team defenders against Villa.

Arteta didn’t turn to Jakub Kiwior so Jurrien Timber was needed centrally, which was perhaps a mistake in the eyes of some.

Premier League giants Arsenal have received a big boost after Benjamin Sesko reportedly signalled his readiness to don their colours.

In an update that is sure to have the Emirates buzzing, the RB Leipzig frontman has indicated a preference for joining Mikel Arteta’s squad over the likes of Manchester United or Chelsea. The Mirror also reported last year that there has been curiosity from certain superpowers in Serie A, but the Gunners appears to outrank plenty of their competition.

Arsenal were understood to have raised interest in Sesko’s signature last summer, but he elected to stick it out in Leipzig for another year. Despite this, the 21-year-old frontman reportedly struck a £60million “gentleman’s agreement” for a potential exit in 2025, an agreement that the Bundesliga outfit plans to honour—unless they’re presented with an irresistible January offer.

Barcelona are now believed to have joined the transfer conversation, assuming the Catalan club can move past their recent financial constraints. But it means Arsenal’s timeframe for sealing Sesko’s signature may be tightened as one of Europe’s top outfits enters the picture.

Arsenal’s decision-makers are eyeing the possibility of snapping up their summer targets sooner rather than later. Their interest in Athletic Club star Nico Williams remains high, although negotiations are proving complex, given his wage demands are reportedly north of £300,000 a week.

The Gunners have reportedly been eyeing up Juventus forward Dusan Vlahovic and Sporting CP’s Viktor Gyokeres as potential striker alternatives. The Gunners are in need of attacking reinforcements due to an injury crisis that has seen Bukayo Saka put out of action with a hamstring tear and Gabriel Jesus sidelined for the rest of the season with a knee injury.

Arsenal surrendered a two-goal lead at home to Aston Villa, which saw leaders Liverpool keep their gap of six points at the top. Goals from Gabriel Martinelli and Kai Havertz put the Gunners in control, but Youri Tielemans and Ollie Watkins struck in the second half to deny Mikel Arteta’s side the victory.

Earlier in the day, Liverpool looked set to drop points as well, but Darwin Nunez came to the rescue with a stunning brace in added time to join Nottingham Forest and Arsenal as teams to beat Brentford in the league on their own patch.

Later in the day at Emirates Stadium, Arsenal flew out of the blocks in the opening 45 minutes with Emi Martinez forced into two strong saves from Leandro Trossard and Martinelli. The latter eventually broke the deadlock 10 minutes before half-time when latching onto a deep cross from Trossard.

Pressure from the hosts continued in the second half, and the Belgian international was again the provider, with Havertz this time side-footing home his excellent left-footed cross. Just as Arsenal looked to be easing to victory, a Youri Tielemans header saw Villa pull one back on the hour mark.

Just eight minutes later, Unai Emery’s side were back on level terms with Ollie Watkins converting a Matty Cash cross at the back post. Kai Havertz thought he had bagged the winner, but VAR deemed he handled Mikel Merino’s shot past Martinez, and therefore the goal was disallowed.

Arsenal dropped points in the title race after a painful draw seeing a two-goal lead slip at the end.

Arsenal took the lead in the first half through Gabriel Martinelli. Leandro Trossard was found by Mikel Merino before final third before a reverse cross that the Brazilian’s touch just managed to beat Emi Martinez to the delight of supporters.

The Belgian turned creator for a second time early in the second half, finding the perfect cross for Kai Havertz who volleyed in to delight the Arsenal crowd. However Villa would score two quickfire goals through a Youri Tielemans header and then Ollie Watkins meeting a back post Matty Cash cross.

Arsenal thought they had won it when Mikel Merino’s shot went in but the replays showed it hit Havertz’s arm on the way through and VAR disallowed it.

David Raya – Made a good save early in the game from Ian Maatsen. The goals conceded against Tielemans and Watkins however he was beaten and could do very little to stop each strike. 6

Thomas Partey – Playing at right-back has never been a position that any Arsenal fan has enjoyed and again he had a frustrating display. A throw-in nearly gifted Watkins a chance and he was slow in coming out to stop Lucas Digne’s cross for the Merino own goal. Then he lost Watkins for the second goal, leaving him free at the back post to finish past Raya. 5

Jurrien Timber – Playing centrally in the absence of William Saliba, Timber has played just a handful of times for Arsenal in the role he became very familiar with at Ajax. 7

Gabriel Magalhaes – Even without his usual centre-half partner Gabriel continued his dominant streak. First with an excellent tackle on Ollie Watkins in a one-on-one situation before repeating the feat several minutes later. He was a nuisance from the set pieces and found two headers to try to find teammates but sadly couldn’t quite make the target. 8

Myles Lewis-Skelly – Each week I find myself having to come up with new words to describe just how impressed I am with the teenage sensation – again his strength and technical ability, and in the first half he performed a perfect lunging tackle to the delight of the home crowd while also producing a great chance in the second that sadly no one in the box gambled on. 8

Mikel Merino – After what was a much more positive first half, where he found Leandro Trossard in the build-up for the opening goal, he sadly was not able to stop Youri Tielemans from scoring the Villa first.. After trying to reach the Lucas Digne cross, a touch took the ball past David Raya. He thought he’s won the game at the end but saw his goal chalked off for offside, then hit the post in added time. 7

Declan Rice – Another imperious performance in the middle of the park from the Arsenal midfielder. His corner kicks were again incomparable as he picked out the back post time after time. 8

Martin Odegaard – Involved in so much once again, but not particularly having the biggest impact on the main chances in the game. 6

Gabriel Martinelli – Arguably his best performance of the season in an Arsenal shirt as he scored the opening goal, making Ian Maatsen have an absolute nightmare. Darting inside to snab in and beat Emi Martinez. 8

Leandro Trossard – The ball for Gabriel Martinelli was just perfect and the Belgian too, like his opposite side teammate was having a very good game. Great passes throughout, one to Myles Lewis-Skelly standing out in particular. 8

Kai Havertz – He definitely needed that goal, more than anyone else in the team. A great volley to finish off the chance created by Trossard early in the second period. However it was his handball that prevented Mikel Merino’s strike from counting right at the end. 7

William Saliba is absent from the Arsenal matchday squad to face Aston Villa today due to hamstring tightness.

Replacing him in the starting XI at centre-back alongside Gabriel Magalhaes is Jurrien Timber with Thomas Partey moved to right-back. Declan Rice will anchor the midfield as a result of that with Mikel Merino and captain Martin Odegaard just ahead of him.

Myles Lewis-Skelly is in at left-back, once again, while Gabriel Martinelli makes a starting return ahead of Raheem Sterling with Kai Havertz and Leandro Trossard both keeping their places. The absence of Saliba is certainly a huge concern, however, though Timber is a more than capable replacement.

Despite that, another injury blow has seen Arteta’s squad depleted further with Riccardo Calafiori also still missing. Bukayo Saka is therefore their only current long-term injury absentee after Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu were spotted at London Colney stepping up their respective injury recoveries.

Saka, meanwhile, will be away from the club’s training ground as Arteta confirmed he would be going on holiday. “Yes, he needs to,” replied Arteta when asked by reporters if Saka should take time off. “He is obligated to go, with his girlfriend, or his family, or on his own, he can choose.

“He needs to get away for a few days and refresh. He can still do a lot of things with his rehabilitation because it is the perfect stage. It will make him better.”

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has urged Bukayo Saka to time off while he recovers from a serious hamstring injury – insisting the winger needs time to “refresh”

Saka, 23, is set to be sidelined until March after he sustained a hamstring injury in the Gunners’ 5-1 win over Crystal Palace in December.

Since undergoing surgery at the end of last month, the England international has been recovering alongside his team-mates at Arsenal’s London Colney training ground.

Arteta, though, has urged the forward to take a few days off for a holiday as he believes it will benefit Saka’s rehabilitation.

Young Arsenal defender Maldini Kacurri has not been included in Saturday’s Premier League 2 squad for a game away to Fulham. The decision has heightened fears that regular first-team centre-back William Saliba could miss the evening’s clash with Aston Villa.

Saliba was not seen in training pictures posted on Friday, sparking concern that he will not be fit enough to be involved at the Emirates Stadium. The Frenchman played 90 minutes against Tottenham on Wednesday night.

Mikel Arteta has been working with an increasingly threadbare squad in recent weeks owing to yet more injuries. Gabriel Jesus is the latest man to be ruled out for a significant period of time. His season could be over after going off with a knee problem against Manchester United last weekend.

Arsenal’s substitutes bench against Spurs included young duo Ismeal Kabia and Nathan Butler-Oyedeji. Neither player has been selected to feature for the Under-21s in a hint that they will, once more, be with the senior side.

Kacurri made his debut for the first-team earlier this year – coming from the substitutes bench in the Carabao Cup third-round win over Bolton Wanderers. He was also named as a substitute against Crystal Palace last month in the same competition, but he’s yet to play in the Premier League.

He was picked as back-up three times earlier in the season, but has not made a senior breakthrough as yet. The 19-year-old Albanian has been a regular for academy matches.

Kacurri has trained under Arteta with the senior players previously, first doing so in 2022 as a 17-year-old. He moved from the Fulham academy earlier that year and is a youth international for his country.

Arsenal know that if results go their way this weekend they could be just one point off Liverpool at the top of the table. Meanwhile, a gap to third-placed Nottingham Forest could also end up being five points.