Mikel Arteta has given the latest on William Saliba after the defender was not named in the Arsenal squad to face Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
Saliba was injured in the warm-up before Arsenal's Premier League match against Liverpool before the international break. He pulled out of the France squad and had been expected to be sidelined for a few weeks.
However, Arteta confirmed in his pre-match press conference on Friday that Saliba had trained with the team that morning, raising the prospect that he could start the 12.30pm kick-off against Forest.
Yet the Gunners manager has taken the safety-first approach by leaving him out, with Cristhian Mosquera deputising. "He [William Saliba] trained yesterday, but at the end of the session he wasn't fully ready to start the game," he told TNT Sports.
READ MORE: Ex-Premier League star in palliative care after being diagnosed with two terminal illnesses
READ MORE: 'I had no choice but to quit West Ham for Tottenham – what the fans did hurt me'
Saliba did the injury in the warm-up ahead of the 1-0 defeat by Liverpool two weeks ago. He started the game anyway, but was forced to be substituted early on.
Mosquera, a summer signing from Valencia, came off the bench to replace him and performed well at Anfield. He has been given the nod to start against Forest, ahead of Piero Hincapie, who joined Arsenal on deadline day from Bayer Leverkusen.
The visit of Ange Postecoglou's Forest to the Emirates Stadium is the first game back after the two-week international break. And Arteta knows he will have to rotate his squad in the coming weeks, with games coming thick and fast.
"The amount of games we play in the next 21 days," he said. "It is finding that right balance by making sure everybody is connected."
Eberechi Eze starts for Arsenal, having joined the club in a £67.5m move from Crystal Palace. "Very exciting there is different connections that the front three have not played together," Arteta said. "They can change with different abilities and, in my opinion, that can be very powerful."
Arteta is pleased to see Postecoglou back in the Premier League, having replaced Nuno Espirito Santo at Forest just months after he was sacked by Tottenham. "I'm sure Ange will bring his own things. It is going to be different for sure," he said.
Join our new WhatsApp communityand 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.
