Arteta Reveals When Arsenal's Defensive Stars Saliba and Gabriel Will Return from Injury
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has revealed that defender William Saliba is close to making his comeback from injury, though his defensive colleague Gabriel faces a lengthier spell away from action.
Gabriel sustained an injury while on international duty with Brazil last month, forcing Arsenal to field an untested centre-back partnership in their 1–1 stalemate against Chelsea, as Saliba was sidelined due to a training ground knock.
This resulted in Cristhian Mosquera and Piero Hincapié making their debut as a defensive duo. Despite showing no significant weaknesses in their display, the pair did permit Chelsea to register 11 attempts on goal—marking only the fifth occasion this campaign across all tournaments that Arsenal have conceded such a high number of shots.
The Gunners return to Premier League action on Wednesday when they host Brentford, though it remains uncertain whether Mosquera and Hincapié will be given another opportunity to showcase their partnership or if Saliba will be fit enough to feature.
"Yes [Saliba underwent medical examinations], he picked up a minor issue but I believe it's just a question of days," Arteta stated. "So we'll see if he can participate tomorrow. It's a matter of days for William."
Should Saliba remain unavailable for Wednesday's fixture, the upcoming weekend clash against Aston Villa presents a more feasible target for the French defender's return, though his comeback will almost definitely occur without regular partner Gabriel.
"Gabriel is progressing well too, but that's weeks [not days]," Arteta clarified.
Arteta: Havertz Dealing with Injury Complication
While the update regarding Saliba's condition was encouraging, Arsenal supporters have received conflicting information about German forward Kai Havertz and the knee problem that has sidelined him since the opening week of the campaign.
Expectations were high that Havertz would have returned by this point, but Germany manager Julian Nagelsmann disclosed during the November international window that the 26-year-old's comeback timeline had been delayed due to complications.
When asked to verify this information, Arteta responded: "Correct, so he was completing all activities. He couldn't progress to the next stage and now it appears we have resolved that issue.
"We're all eager to have him back. I mean, he's a player that I personally value tremendously for his contributions to the squad, his mentality, his character. I see his frustration being on the outside. His availability record is outstanding, he's consistently been ready and I'm anxious to have him back with the team competing because I believe it will provide a significant lift for the squad."
Arteta projected Havertz's return as "a matter of weeks" but suggested supporters would only need to wait "days" for another appearance from winger Leandro Trossard, who was absent from the Chelsea match due to an ankle issue.