Arsenal dealt hammer blow with William Saliba set to miss 7 key fixtures

Arsenal’s latest injury news on William Saliba is not good after the France international was forced off the field against Liverpool and could now miss a month of action for the Gunners

Arsenal have been dealt a hammerblow after William Saliba was ruled out for three to four weeks, according to sources in France. The central defender was forced off the field just minutes into the Gunners’ defeat against Liverpool.

Saliba limped off with an ankle injury before pulling out of international duty with Les Bleus. The 24-year-old could now miss a month of action as Arsenal attempt to get back to winning ways and Champions League competition begins following the international break.

Earlier this week, a statement from the French national team read: “William Saliba, who started for Arsenal against Liverpool on Sunday, was forced off in the fifth minute. He will not be able to honour his call-up for the first training camp of the season. He is suffering from a sprained left ankle. After a discussion with Franck Le Gall, the French team doctor, Didier Deschamps confirmed the unavailability of William Saliba. The national coach has decided to call up Benjamin Pavard as a reinforcement.”

READ MORE: Newcastle United ‘blocked deadline day transfer’ after witnessing Arsenal moveREAD MORE: Viktor Gyokeres could miss crucial Arsenal matches after being called to court as witness

Saliba is set to miss matches against Nottingham Forest, Athletic Bilbao, Manchester City and a Carabao Cup game against Port Vale. If the Arsenal star suffers the worse end of the prognosis, he will also be absent for matches against Newcastle and Olympiacos and West Ham United.

Summer signing Cristhian Mosquera, 21, came from the bench to replace Saliba against Liverpool. The Spaniard was signed from Valencia for just £13million.

Mikel Arteta added further defensive reinforcement on transfer deadline day in the form of Piero Hincapie from Bayer Leverkusen. The 23-year-old arrives on loan with the north London team able to make the move permanent next summer.

Arteta was relieved to have Mosquera at his disposal after Saliba suffered his injury in the warm up for the match at Anfield. Saliba initially believed he would be fine for the match.

“He came in and he said he believed that he could carry on and play but straightaway in the first two actions I could see that he couldn’t cope and we had to get him out, unfortunately,” Arteta explained.

“But thank God we have Mosquera, which we put in for the first time in the Premier League, his debut[sic: Mosquera also came off the bench vs Leeds], not expecting it at Anfield and I think he was really, really good.”

Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.

Sky Sports discounted Premier League and EFL package

This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more

£49

£35

Sky

Get the deal here

Sky has slashed the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle ahead of the 2025/26 season, saving members £336 and offering more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.

Sky will show at least 215 live Premier League games next season, an increase of up to 100 more.