Arteta’s demand for a Christmas Day session comes at a time when the club’s injury list has drawn criticism, despite the manager repeatedly denying that his methods are too taxing. The Spaniard has dismissed the idea that training intensity is to blame for the spate of issues, but a growing number of observers believe fatigue is beginning to take its toll. The Gunners are currently without several key defenders, including William Saliba, who has missed four matches after suffering a recurrence of complications from an ankle injury sustained earlier this season. Arteta provided fresh insight into Saliba’s condition ahead of Arsenal’s meeting with Wolves, revealing that the defender’s absence stems from compensations he made while recovering from an ankle twist suffered at Anfield in August.
"It was something quite small," he said. "It came from an ankle injury that he had and then he started to modify the way he was running and he started to overload an area, which is something common. But at some point he was uncomfortable continuing to be able to train and play and we had to stop it. He looks better but we'll have to wait and see if it's enough for him to be able to train with the team."
On being pressed whether the defender will be available this weekend, Arteta said: "We have to wait and see. Yesterday we didn’t train, so we have an extra day between this afternoon, let’s see if he can be available or not. It remains the same. If you asked me for the Everton game, I think he will be fit; for tomorrow, I don’t know."
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