Arsenal's early-season injury crisis went from bad to worse on Sunday afternoon, as William Saliba was withdrawn early doors against Liverpool at Anfield.
The France international was unsurprisingly stationed alongside Gabriel Magalhaes in defence for the mouthwatering Premier League clash, but his race was run after just five minutes.
Saliba came off worse in a duel with Liverpool striker and compatriot Hugo Ekitike, seemingly hurting his foot or ankle and dropping to the turf soon after.
Mikel Arteta took no chances with the former Saint-Etienne starlet, immediately replacing him with summer signing Cristhian Mosquera, who slotted in seamlessly alongside Gabriel in the heart of the backline.
The Gunners calmly kept the champions at bay for the remainder of the first half, but concern will undoubtedly soon turn to Saliba, who immediately headed down the tunnel after being withdrawn.
How Arsenal could line up without Saliba after Liverpool injury
Cristhian Mosquera in action for Valencia on May 10, 2025
Saliba's fifth-minute change was Arsenal's earliest substitution in a Premier League game since November 2012, where coincidentally, another French centre-back in Laurent Koscielny came off in the fourth minute against another Merseyside team in Everton.
Thankfully, the signing of Mosquera means that Arsenal already have a ready-made replacement for the Frenchman, while Ben White and Jurrien Timber are no strangers to playing the right centre-back role too.
White is of course sidelined alongside Saliba right now, but the Englishman is not thought to be nursing anything more serious than a knock and might be fit to return to action following the September international break.
Before the transfer window slams shut, Arsenal should also have Bayer Leverkusen defender Piero Hincapie through the door, although the left-sided specialist will surely only be deployed on the right in an emergency, as is the case with Gabriel Magalhaes.
In another worst-case scenario, Declan Rice could drop into defence and vacate the left eight slot for Mikel Merino, but Mosquera will almost certainly enjoy a run of starts if Saliba is ruled out for any length of time.
When will Arsenal's other injured players return?
Arsenal's Martin Odegaard pictured on August 23, 2025
Good news at least preceded bad news on the injury front for Arsenal before Saliba's issue, as Martin Odegaard and Leandro Trossard were both fit to make the bench following a shoulder problem and an unspecified knock respectively.
However, the critical Bukayo Saka could be missing for up to a month with the hamstring he sustained against Leeds United, potentially ruling him out of clashes with Manchester City and Newcastle United before the end of September.
Meanwhile, Kai Havertz is understood to be facing weeks out following a minor knee operation, but the German should not be absent for longer than three months and is likely to return before Christmas.
ACL victim Gabriel Jesus could also be playing again by the end of the year, having taken a huge step forward in his rehabilitation, while Christian Norgaard's knock might settle down over the international break too.
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