BREAKING NEWS: I know I’m a strong guy but what the doctor told me yesterday concerning my recent injury really broke my heart,this is the first I’m seeing such a doctor report”, William Saliba finally reveals what the doctor told Him yesterday that is making him to shed tears
ARSENAL defender William Saliba has been ruled out of the Carabao Cup fourth round match against Brighton tomorrow due to injury.
The 24-year-old was hauled off at half-time against Crystal Palace on Sunday, although Mikel Arteta refused to disclose any details.
However, the Spaniard provided an update on him during a press conference on Tuesday.
Arteta explained: “[Saliba] is out. We are assessing him, but he won’t be involved this match.”
The Arsenal head coach also revealed that Gabriel Martinelli will also likely miss out due to an issue.
Martinelli was introduced as a second-half substitute against Palace but limped down the Emirates Stadium tunnel after the full-time whistle.
Arteta continued: “[Martinelli] looks as well that he is going to be out. We have to, again, do some more tests and see the extent of the injury.
“But this game is going to be too early for him.”
Despite hinting at some injury scares concerning Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice and Riccardo Calafiori at the weekend, the Arsenal head coach confirmed that all three will be available for the Brighton clash.
Arteta could decide to rotate his squad for the meeting on Wednesday, with Kepa Arrizabalaga potentially getting a start in goal.
With Saliba unavailable, Cristhian Mosquera is almost guaranteed to start in the heart of defence.
Bayer Leverkusen loanee Piero Hincapie could also be handed his first Arsenal start.
Reflecting on the crucial win over Palace on Sunday, Arteta said: “I just told the boys that I probably value this victory more than any other victory this season, because we knew the difficulty of it after playing every three days.
“We had a big opportunity as well with the things that happened during this weekend and I knew we played against a team that, in my opinion, has been one of the best recently in terms of organisation, how difficult they make it, how frustrated they can make you, and the moment that you lose that concentration, they will punish you.
“We have managed to be very stable, playing the game that we have to play. In the first half we were a bit stuck, but we found a way to score a goal and in the second half we attacked better and were more fluent.
“But with 1-0, we knew that we had to suffer because a team has to score goals to beat any other opponent this season, so to keep the clean sheet is very important.”
