Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has admitted centre back William Saliba is on the cusp of returning from injury, but defensive partner Gabriel will need longer on the sidelines.
Gabriel limped off during Brazil duty last month and Arsenal were forced to deploy a new-look centre back pairing for the 1–1 draw with Chelsea after Saliba was ruled out courtesy of a knock suffered in training.
It left Cristhian Mosquera and Piero Hincapié to start together for the first time. While there were no major concerns about the pair’s performance, they did hand Chelsea a total of 11 shots throughout the game—just the fifth time across all competitions this season that the Gunners have allowed so many shots on goal.
Arsenal are back in action on Wednesday with a visit from Brentford and, as of yet, it is unclear whether Mosquera and Hincapié will get another chance to impress together or whether Saliba will be ready to return.
“Yeah [Saliba had tests], he had a niggle but I think it’s going to be a matter of days,” Arteta predicted. “So let’s see if he's able to do that tomorrow. So a matter of days for William.”
If Saliba does not return on Wednesday, the weekend meeting with Aston Villa could be a realistic target for the France international, but his comeback will almost certainly come without usual partner Gabriel.
“Gabi’s doing very well as well but that’s weeks [rather than days],” Arteta explained.
