Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta rules William Saliba out of Leeds game but hopeful defender’s season is not over | Football News

March 31, 2023 admin

William Saliba has been ruled out of Arsenal’s game against Leeds on Saturday owing to a back injury but Mikel Arteta is hopeful his season is not over.

The central defender suffered the issue during Arsenal’s defeat to Sporting Lisbon in the Europa League and subsequently missed the 4-1 win over Crystal Palace and withdrew from the France squad for their Euro 2024 qualifiers.

Gunners boss Arteta revealed Saliba will not feature this weekend but played down fears that his season is over.

When asked if Saliba will play again this season, Arteta said: “Yeah I am very hopeful and he is as well. Back injuries are a bit tricky and how they evolve with the load that you put in certain areas. Let’s push it and see how he copes with that. He’s so willing to be back in the team.”

Gabriel Jesus is available to face Leeds having returned from his knee injury in Arsenal’s games against Fulham and Sporting Lisbon before the international break. His inclusion in the starting XI for the Europa League exit was his first start since November and Arteta hinted he is in contention to lead the line against Leeds.

He said: “He’s very close to that [100 per cent fitness]. In the last 10 days he’s made a big step forward. You can see he’s looser and not thinking about it. He’s creating that chaos in training. He’s in a really good place now.”

More to follow…