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Mikel Arteta speaks about William Saliba injury & Arsenal’s title challenge.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has confirmed that William Saliba will not be available for the Gunners’ Premier League clash with Chelsea this week.
A back injury prompted the central defender to leave the match against Sporting CP in the Europa League last 16-second leg in March, and he has missed every Premier League game since.
The Gunners have experienced a sharp decline in form since Saliba was removed from the starting lineup. Since victories over Leeds and Crystal Palace, they have now gone four games without a victory.
Manchester City thrashed Arsenal 4-1 at the Etihad Stadium, and combined with City’s victory over Fulham on Sunday, Arteta’s squad is currently in second position in the standings.
When asked in his pre-match press conference ahead of Tuesday’s clash with a rather woeful Chelsea team about whether or not Arsenal fans can expect Saliba to return for the game, Arteta replied: “He’s not going to be involved tomorrow. We will have to wait until the next game to see where we are.”
Arteta also discussed the title race ahead of the game against Chelsea, admitting that the fate of the championship is no longer in his team’s hands: “[We have to] win, that is what we have to do.
“We have achieved what was difficult to achieve and we can still achieve the Premier League. We are Arsenal football club, we have to be here to win every single trophy. The demands have to be there.
“Now it is not in our hands, what is in our hands is to try and win the games.”