Mikel Arteta Provides Worrying Injury Updates on William Saliba, Gabriel
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta revealed the Gunners will have to “cope” without William Saliba and Gabriel for an ongoing “period of time.”
The two defenders were sorely missed on Saturday afternoon in Arsenal’s heartbreaking 2–1 defeat to Aston Villa. The league-leaders saw their point at Villa Park snatched away with the final kick of the match by Emiliano Buendía, who bagged the winner for the hosts in the 95th minute.
The injured Saliba and Gabriel remained on the sidelines for the clash, joined by fellow centre back Cristhian Mosquera, who suffered an ankle injury in the Gunners’ 2–0 win over Brentford on Wednesday evening.
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Piero Hincapié and Jurriën Timber got the nod in defence, flanked on either side by Riccardo Calafiori and Ben White. The makeshift backline could not withstand Unai Emery’s in-form Villans, though, and were left stunned when the final whistle blew in Birmingham.
Following the match, Arteta did not have any positive updates to share on Saliba or Gabriel’s statuses: “It is what it is. I think we have to cope with that [their absence]. We’re going to have to cope with that for a period of time as well.”
Saliba has missed Arsenal’s last three matches after picking up a knock in training ahead of the club’s trip to Stamford Bridge. Gabriel, meanwhile, has not featured since he sustained a thigh injury while representing Brazil during the November international window.
Arteta Issues Damning Mosquera Fitness Update
Arteta also spoke on Mosquera’s fitness following the club’s defeat on Saturday and had no good news to share.
“He’s going to be out for weeks. Unfortunately, it’s much more than what we expected, with the way he was feeling,” the Spanish boss said.
Previous reports stated Mosquera would be out for at least six weeks, leaving Arsenal extremely shorthanded in defence ahead of the busy holiday period. Even worse, Manchester City are now just two points behind the Gunners in the Premier League title race.
“We know that and the team has to be able to adapt that,” Arteta said of Arsenal’s injury woes. “Don’t look for excuses. Obviously, we know what [Saliba and Gabriel] bring, especially in games like this.”
Still, the 43-year-old will hope to at least get Saliba back in time for the Gunners’ trip to Belgium, where they face Club Brugge in the Champions League on Wednesday evening.
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