Need to know
William Saliba will not be in the Arsenal squad to face Coventry City in Friday's Premier League opener
William Saliba will be unavailable for Arsenal against Coventry
How long is William Saliba going to be missing from the Arsenal squad?
Why is William Saliba not in the Arsenal squad?: William Saliba will miss Arsenal's Premier League opener against Coventry City due to a back problem. This injury was sustained while playing for France during the 2026 World Cup.
How long is he out for?: Saliba is currently expected to be sidelined for a minimum of two months. Initially, there were major concerns that he would require surgery, which would have kept him out for up to five months - but thankfully, the injury wasn't serious enough for serious intervention.
Mikel Arteta's response: Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has said: "William is in rest mode at the moment. For two weeks he had to do almost nothing, don’t aggravate the injury. It’s going to take some time to heal, we know that. As quick as we have more news we can inform."
Who will replace Saliba?: Cristhian Mosquera is the most direct replacement as he featured throughout pre-season and also in the Community Shield win over Manchester City. Piero Hincapie and Riccardo Calafiori can also shift into centre-back in the event that Mosquera is unavailable to partner Gabriel.