Arsenal guaranteed to be without four players for Leeds after Saliba confirmation
On Saturday, Arsenal will face Leeds United at the Emirates Stadium as they continue their pursuit of their first league championship in almost two decades, according to reports.
The upcoming match is the first following the season’s final international break. Arsenal won their last six games, extending their lead over Manchester City to eight points with ten games left.
Fortunately, Arteta’s team has avoided significant injuries from national team duties, but they have some pressing concerns to address in the next 48 hours.
According to sources at football.london, Arsenal will have to do without William Saliba in tomorrow’s match due to an injury. The French defender sustained the injury during Arsenal’s Europa League loss to Sporting CP, which caused him to miss the victory against Crystal Palace and to withdraw from the French national team.
It is uncertain when Saliba will be able to rejoin the squad. Nevertheless, it is anticipated that Rob Holding will take his place in Arteta’s backline alongside Gabriel Magalhaes.
During the international break, both Kieran Tierney and Thomas Partey suffered injuries. Tierney, who hasn’t played much for Arsenal this season, had to be substituted due to a hard tackle by Rodri from Manchester City.
This was the second time in four days that Rodri had been involved in a tackle with an Arsenal player, having made a dangerous challenge on Martin Odegaard in the penalty box during the match against Norway.
Fortunately, Odegaard was unharmed. Tierney’s condition and Partey’s fitness will both be evaluated before the game against Leeds. Partey did not play in the African Cup of Nations qualification game against Angola, despite being on the bench.
Chris Houghton, the Ghana manager, explained that leaving Thomas Partey on the bench during the African Cup of Nations qualification game was a precautionary measure due to some minor tissue injuries. Arsenal’s physio, Simon Murphy, was sent to Africa to ensure that the midfielder doesn’t sustain any serious injuries. Houghton stated that they didn’t want to take the risk of starting Partey with these issues.
Although Gabriel Jesus returned to action before the international break, there is hope that Eddie Nketiah will also be available for selection. The striker has been sidelined since the 4-0 victory over Everton at the beginning of the month.
“He’s still in the boot. He’s still a few weeks away and we need to be patient,” Arteta said.
“It was a nasty injury and he has a big challenge ahead of him. Thank God it could have been worse. So he’s not in a bad place.”
At present, Arsenal has only two senior players missing from the squad. Takehiro Tomiyasu sustained an injury during the game against Sporting and has been ruled out for the rest of the season.
The club has released a statement confirming that the player underwent successful surgery in London and will work towards joining the pre-season training for the next season. Meanwhile, Mohamed Elneny, the midfielder, is still recovering from a long-term knee injury.
Arsenal guaranteed to be without four players for Leeds after Saliba confirmation”
