Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has confirmed that the club will retake their official 2026-27 team photograph following William Saliba’s surprise omission from the original picture.
The Gunners published their annual squad photograph earlier this week, but supporters quickly noticed that the French defender was missing.
Arsenal subsequently explained that Saliba had been unable to attend the photoshoot because of a medical appointment relating to his ongoing back injury.
Speaking ahead of Sunday’s Premier League trip to Nottingham Forest, Arteta confirmed that another photograph would be arranged to include the 25-year-old.
“What happened was that we have tried to do that picture three times already and we had to cancel it last minute for different reasons,” Arteta explained.
The Spaniard revealed that commercial commitments and the presence of visiting personnel meant Arsenal decided to proceed despite Saliba’s absence.
“We had some commercial obligations, we had some people who flew over to do that, so we decided to do that picture,” he added.
“We will have another picture with the whole family.”
Arteta also dismissed suggestions that Saliba was unhappy about being excluded, insisting that the defender understood the circumstances.
“He knows how loved he is,” the Arsenal manager said. “He was taking some banter from the players and he is completely fine.”
Saliba has yet to feature this season because of his back problem, having established himself as one of Arsenal’s most important defenders in recent campaigns.
The France international has made 184 appearances for the club and remains central to Arteta’s long-term plans.
Providing an update on his recovery, Arteta confirmed that Saliba would undergo another MRI scan next week to assess his progress.
“Every sign so far has been very, very positive,” he said.
The defender recently resumed training on grass, although Arsenal have not established a definitive date for his competitive return.
Arteta also delivered updates on several other injured players before the trip to Forest.
Martin Zubimendi could return after sustaining an injury during the warm-down following Arsenal’s victory over Leeds United.
However, Piero Hincapie, who suffered an injury during the same session, is expected to remain unavailable for another one or two weeks.
Summer signing Christos Tzolis is also recovering from a hamstring problem sustained while representing Greece.
The winger underwent an MRI scan on Thursday, with Arteta hopeful that he could return within the coming weeks.
Arsenal will therefore continue managing several fitness concerns as they prepare to defend their Premier League title.