Mikel Arteta hopeful William Saliba will be fit in time for Man City clash
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William Saliba has handed Arsenal a rare injury boost after manager Mikel Arteta confirmed the defender is set to be available to face Manchester City on February 2. Saliba was sorely missed as the Gunners could take only a point against Aston Villa after Arteta’s players surrendered a two-goal lead at the Emirates on Saturday – a result which leaves them six points behind Liverpool having played one game more than Arne Slot’s table-toppers.
Arteta indicated he could be without Saliba – so crucial to Arsenal’s resurgence in recent years – for a sustained period after revealing he was “very worried” about the Frenchman’s condition. But, while he conceded that Saliba will not be available for Arsenal’s penultimate Champions League group match against Dinamo Zagreb on Wednesday, Arteta said he expects him to be fit for their crucial Premier League home clash against City in 12 days time.
Asked if he was confident Saliba would be available for the visit of Pep Guardiola’s side, Arteta replied: “Yes, I hope so. “He is evolving well and the last few days he has been feeling much better but this game comes a little bit too early for him.”.
In a further boost to Arteta, who bemoaned being forced to name three untested academy players on the bench last weekend such is the club’s injury problems, Ethan Nwaneri and Riccardo Calafiori will both return to his squad for the visit of Zagreb. Nwaneri, 17, has been absent since he opened the scoring in Arsenal’s 1-1 draw at Brighton on January 5, while Calafiori has also been unavailable since the fixture at the Amex Stadium.
