Mikel Arteta speaking in his pre-match conference ahead of the Southampton game has disclosed fitness update on two of his injured defenders.
Arsenal’s defense has been struggling in the absence of William Saliba, who has been sidelined due to a back problem.
The young defender missed Arsenal’s Europa League penalty shootout defeat to Sporting last month and has been absent from the team’s last four Premier League matches. His replacement, Rob Holding, has failed to keep a clean sheet in these matches against Crystal Palace, Leeds, Liverpool, and West Ham, resulting in a total of six goals conceded.
Although Saliba has been making progress in his recovery, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has hinted that the defender is still some way off from returning to the pitch. This suggests that Saliba is likely to miss the upcoming high-stakes encounter against Manchester City at the Etihad on Wednesday.
When asked about his team’s news ahead of Friday’s match, Arteta replied, “No big news, the picture hasn’t changed from last week. And regarding William, we still have to wait a little bit more.”
The manager went on to explain that they are being cautious with Saliba’s recovery and want to ensure that he is ready to handle the physical demands of the game before they rush him back into action. “We want to be very certain when we push him that he is ready to absorb the load and the risk that we would take, and at the moment that’s not possible to do,” he said.
Arteta also provided an update on the fitness of left-back Oleksandr Zinchenko, who missed Sunday’s 2-2 draw against West Ham as a precautionary measure due to a tight groin. The manager stated that Zinchenko’s injury is muscular and that he needs some time to heal before he can return to the pitch.
It remains to be seen whether he will be fit enough to take on Southampton in their upcoming match.