Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has confirmed that William Saliba will miss Tuesday's Premier League clash with Chelsea. The defender has missed the last six games, seeing the Gunners conceding 13 goals.
In his absence, the north Londoners have lost their spot at the top of the table following Manchester City's near-perfect run in 2023. The reigning champions went above Arsenal on Sunday after they defeated Fulham 2-1 at Craven Cottage.
The ball is back in the Gunners' court this week, with nothing but a victory against Chelsea helpful in their attempts to overtake Man City. Frank Lampard’s men make the short trip across London searching for their first win since March 11.
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Despite not playing over the weekend, the Gunners have not been able to get Saliba back to full fitness. "He's not going to be involved tomorrow," Arteta confirmed in his pre-match press conference.. "We will have to wait until the next game to see where we are."
Following the visit of Chelsea, the Gunners face Newcastle away from home at the weekend before facing Brighton, Nottingham Forest and Wolves in their final three games.
Alongside Saliba's blow, Arteta provided an uneasy update on Takehiro Tomiyasu's recovery. The right-back has been sidelined with a knee injury after coming off in the ninth minute against Sporting CP in the middle of March.
He has since undergone surgery, forcing him to miss the remainder of the season. But despite initially hoping the Japanese international would return for pre-season, Arteta has hinted that may not be the case.
When asked about the importance of Saliba's injury, the Spaniard discussed the number of concerns the club have been forced to deal with. "Tomiyasu out for three-and-a-half months, maybe now six months," was his reply, meaning the 24-year-old could now miss the start of next season, with six months from his injury being September.
Elsewhere, Mohamed Elneny is the other player guaranteed to miss the rest of the season with a knee injury. A club statement read: "Following an injury sustained in a recent training session, subsequent assessments have confirmed that Mohamed Elneny has a significant injury to his right knee.
"Mo has had successful surgery in London and will be ruled out for an extended period of time. A more detailed timescale will be established once the early stages of rehabilitation have been completed. Everyone at the club will be offering Mo all the support he needs and working hard with him so he can return to action as soon as possible."
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