Mikel Arteta doubts that William Saliba will be fit enough for Arsenal’s FA Cup trip to Mansfield Town this weekend.
Saliba missed Arsenal’s 1-0 away win over Brighton & Hove Albion on Wednesday with what Arteta described as a turned ankle.
Asked post-match whether these are the same ankle issues the defender had earlier this season, Arteta said: “No, it’s the other one. We thought the same straight after the (Chelsea) game. He wasn’t comfortable finishing the game, and straight after that he didn’t have a good feeling. Let’s see if he recovers quickly.”
They were different injuries, but the 24-year-old France international has had two spells out with ankle issues this season.
The first was a twisted left ankle in the warm-up away to Liverpool in August, which saw him miss two weeks of football for club and country. The next ankle injury kept him out from late November until mid-December.
Arteta initially called the second ankle injury “bizarre” before adding: “It was something quite small. It came from an ankle injury he had and then it started to modify the way he was running.
“Then he started to overload an area, which is common, but at some point he was uncomfortable training and playing and we had to stop it.”
What this means for Arsenal and Arteta
Summer signing Cristhian Mosquera replaced Saliba in the line-up at Brighton, as he did away to Liverpool at the start of the season, for what was his sixth Premier League start of the season.
The 21-year-old was substituted for Riccardo Calafiori as he was on a yellow card and struggling to deal with Yankuba Minteh, but overall he has been a reliable deputy when called upon this season.
Mosquera is Saliba’s natural deputy (Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
It is unlikely that Saliba would have started away to Mansfield Town anyway, but Arteta managing his return to fitness well is essential.
The drop in quality between Saliba and his back-up is not as stark as it was when he suffered a season-ending injury in the 2022-23 season, when Rob Holding stepped in, but Arsenal are much stronger with him than without him.
As far as their Premier League title hopes go, they have some time to ease him back. Their next league game is not for over a week, as they play in the FA Cup and Champions League (Bayer Leverkusen away) first.
They then host Everton on March 14, before playing the Round of 16 second leg against Leverkusen, and then the Carabao Cup final against Manchester City at Wembley on March 22.
