Mikel Arteta expects the return of William Saliba after a hamstring injury injury in time to face Manchester City next week, with the Frenchman out of contention for the trip to Wolves on Saturday.
Saliba unexpectedly missed the 2-2 draw with Aston Villa – a game in which Arsenal surrendered a 2-0 lead at the Emirates Stadium – and Arteta, after initially playing down the seriousness of the problem, admitted that “very worried” about the state of the French.
Arteta revealed before 3-0 win over Dinamo Zagreb on Wednesday in the Champions League that Saliba and Bukayo Saka progressed in their recovery and the Spaniard went into more detail at a press conference on Friday as he also gave an update on young left-back Myles Lewis-Skelly.
“With Myles there is nothing serious on the tape so it will be a matter of today’s meeting with the medical staff and training and whether it is too early or not,” Arteta said ahead of the Wolves game.
“It’s the same with Willy. I think it will be next week for sure [against Manchester City] but this week, let’s see how it goes.”
The reports suggested Arsenal could welcome long-term absentee Ben White back from knee surgery in time for the next game against Newcastle United in the second leg of the Carabao Cup final.
While Arteta would not commit to a return date for White, he did reveal that the versatile defender should be back in the mix soon.
“He hasn’t trained with the team yet, but he’s very close,” Arteta said. “He has to tick a few boxes and then I think he’ll be with us very soon.”
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