William Saliba hardly had time to get the popcorn in as he went limping in during the first few minutes of the game against Liverpool at Anfield. The departure of the French defender had been as unobtruded as a fire alarm in the middle of a wedding service–noisy, inconvenient and immediately dampening the atmosphere. The injury to Saliba could not have happened at a worse time, as the Gunners had a laundry list of absentees.
William Saliba absence tests Arsenal depth
Saliba’s departure forced Mikel Arteta to turn to Cristhian Mosquera, who suddenly had the unenviable task of shadowing Hugo Ekitike, Mohamed Salah, and Cody Gakpo. Like someone tossed you into a pool with three hungry sharks and told you to “just keep your cool.” Arsenal’s so-called “squad depth” now looks about as deep as a puddle after light drizzle.
William Saliba injury triggers Arsenal reinforcements
In response to this mini-apocalypse, Arsenal have lined up a season-long loan deal for Bayer Leverkusen’s Piero Hincapie. It is the footballing version of rushing to the hardware store when your roof is leaking—you will get wet, but at least you are trying. The question is whether reinforcements can hold the line long enough for the cavalry (Saka, Havertz, and possibly Saliba himself) to return.
Author’s take on Saliba exit
The truth is the following: Arsenal has a loosy back line in the absence of Saliba. He’s the cement, the balancer, the level head when Anfield is screaming at its highest hearing levels. Provided that this injury persists, the title pursuit of Arsenal might go down the drain like a wet bar of soap. Still, football is chaos, and Arteta has no choice but to roll the dice. My hunch? If we measure Saliba’s absence in days instead of months, Arsenal will barely survive the storm.