Arsenal return to action when they host Brighton & Hove Albion at Emirates Stadium
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta during a press conference
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta gave an injury update in a press conference ahead of the Brighton clash(Image: Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Image)
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Arsenal and Brighton will both have players on the sidelines when they meet in the Premier League this weekend. The Gunners go into the match against the Seagulls looking to maintain their 100 percent start to the season, which is also their final fixture before the extended international break.
Manchester City remain the only other club to win all four of their opening Premier League matches so far this season, alongside Arsenal, with the two clubs emerging as title rivals once again.
However, Mikel Arteta has been forced to deal with several injury concerns throughout the majority of the season, and that is expected to continue this weekend when they travel to the Amex Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Arsenal are guaranteed to be without William Saliba, who is continuing to recover from a back injury he suffered with France during the World Cup.
"We don’t really know the amount of weeks Wilo [Saliba] is going to be out because it’s about a healing process and everything is a bit different - we know we have to respect certain timings,” Arteta said earlier this month.
"The progression has been really positive in the last few weeks, but we need to wait and see how that one reacts when we start to put some load into it.”
Ben White missed Arsenal’s win over Ipswich Town in the Carabao Cup in midweek, but Arteta has confirmed that he hopes to have the defender available.
"Ben is all good, we have another training session this afternoon, so very positive about everybody,” Arteta said.
Jurrien Timber and Piero Hincapie also both missed the trip to Portman Road, with Arteta providing an update on the duo on Friday.
"Yes, we have another session; they are all willing to be part of it. We have another session to try to make sure they are fit,” the Arsenal boss said.
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There was also no Cristhian Mosquera for the clash against Ipswich, and it remains to be seen if the defender will be available for the trip to Brighton this weekend.
For Brighton, they have a lengthy injury list with several players of their own also unavailable for selection.
There will be no Femi Azeez for the Seagulls, with the summer signing currently ruled out with a thigh injury.
Brighton will also be without Yankuba Minteh, Kaoru Mitoma, Jack Hinshelwood, Mats Wieffer, and Stefanos Tzimas.
Michael Svoboda is also expected to be unavailable for Fabian Hurzeler’s side, as are Zadok Yohanna and Evan Ferguson.
Former Tottenham Hotspur defender Luka Vuskovic is expected to be available to face Arsenal, though, while Jaouen Hadjam could also feature for the home side.
"He's young,” Hurzeler said when asked about Vuskovic. “He will recover fast and then he definitely will be an option for tomorrow."