Mikel Arteta has admitted he is “very worried” about William Saliba‘s injury after the Arsenal defender missed Saturday’s 2-2 draw against Aston Villa on Saturday.
Arsenal’s squandering of two Premier League points was compounded by concerns about Saliba, who was not even in the squad after suffering a hamstring injury in the 2-1 victory over Tottenham in midweek.
The France international is integral to Arsenal’s defence and his absence with a back injury in the second half of the 2022-23 campaign undermined their chances of staying with Manchester City in the title race.
“I think tomorrow we will have more information, we will have more tests on him and we will be more clear about it,” Arteta said.
“For sure [we are worried], especially with the numbers we have in the squad and looking at our bench. Very worried.”
Arteta was forced to re-shuffle his defence with Jurriën Timber switching to the centre alongside Gabriel and midfielder Thomas Partey filling in as a makeshift right-back.
Arsenal led 2-0 with goals by Gabriel Martinelli and Kai Havertz but Villa hit back and Ollie Watkins equalised after Youri Tielemans headed his side back into contention.
Arteta was full of praise for his side’s display but criticised the defending for the second goal as Matty Cash flighted over a cross that Watkins converted with a sumptuous volley.
“We can fault ourselves as well because defending the way we did especially with one of the goals, it cannot be part of our game if we want to be at the highest level in this country,” Arteta said. “The rest, what else can I ask the team to do against a really good side?”
Arteta will hope the scans on Saliba show no serious injury as the statistics suggest he is vital to Arsenal.
With Saliba in the team Arsenal have a 72% win rate while in the games he has missed since joining that dips to 38%.
Second-placed Arsenal’s draw left them six points behind Liverpool who also have a game in hand and Arteta hinted at movement in the January transfer window.
“You look at the performances, I don’t know how many teams are playing at this level in the league,” he said. “When you look at the bench, probably you say I think we are very short.”
