Arsenal: Three ways Mikel Arteta could line up after William Saliba injury blow
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Not for the first time, Arsenal felt the impact of being without William Saliba as they blew a two-goal lead at home to Aston Villa. The French defender missed Saturday’s 2-2 Premier League draw due to a hamstring injury and Mikel Arteta admitted after the game that he is “worried” given Arsenal’s lack of defensive options.
The Gunners will continue to assess Saliba ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League clash with Dinamo Zagreb, but French newspaper L’Equipe are reporting that he could face two weeks out. Arsenal will hope that means the centre-back is back by February 2, when they host Manchester City, but until then Arteta must find a solution with games against Zagreb, Wolves and Girona up next.
Here, Standard Sport takes a look at the options available to Arteta…. Arsenal have routinely struggled when Saliba is out and, since the start of the 2022/23 season, they have conceded 1.7 goals per game across the 13 Premier League matches he’s missed.
In the 85 league matches that Saliba has played during that time, Arsenal have conceded 0.8 goals per game. Arteta’s solution on Saturday to not having his star centre-back was to move Jurrien Timber from right-back into the heart of defence. Thomas Partey was shifted from the base of midfield to right-back to complete the back four.
It is a setup Arteta has gone with before and Saturday was the sixth league game this season that Partey has started at right-back. The Ghana international was at fault for Villa’s second goal, allowing Ollie Watkins to run off him and volley home Matty Cash’s cross.