Mikel Arteta very worried about William Saliba injury after Aston Villa draw

LONDON – Arsenal’s squandering of two English Premier League points in the 2-2 draw with Aston Villa on Jan 18 was compounded by concerns about an injury to defender William Saliba that ruled him out of the game.

Saliba was not even in the squad after suffering a hamstring injury in the 2-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur in midweek.

The Frenchman is integral to Arsenal’s defence and his absence with a back injury in the second half of the 2022-23 campaign undermined their chances of staying with Manchester City in the title race.

“I think tomorrow we will have more information. We will have more tests on him and we will be more clear about it,” manager Mikel Arteta told reporters.

“For sure (we are worried), especially with the numbers we have in the squad and looking at our bench. Very worried.”

Arteta was forced to reshuffle his defence, with Jurrien Timber switching to the centre alongside Gabriel Magalhaes and midfielder Thomas Partey filling in as a makeshift right-back.

Arsenal led 2-0 with goals by Gabriel Martinelli and Kai Havertz, but Villa hit back and Ollie Watkins equalised after Youri Tielemans headed his side back into contention.

Arteta was full of praise for his side’s display, but criticised the defending for the second goal as Matty Cash flighted over a cross that Watkins converted with a sumptuous volley.

“We can fault ourselves as well because defending the way we did, especially with one of the goals, it cannot be part of our game if we want to be at the highest level in this country,” Arteta said.

“The rest, what else can I ask the team to do against a really good side?”

Jan 18 was the first time the Gunners have failed to win a Premier League home game in which they led by at least two goals since October 2019, a sequence that lasted 46 games.

Arteta will hope the scans on Saliba show no serious injury, as the statistics suggest he is vital to Arsenal.

With Saliba in the team, Arsenal have a 72 per cent win rate, while in the games he has missed since joining that dips to 38 per cent.

Second-placed Arsenal’s draw left them six points behind Liverpool, who also have a game in hand and Arteta hinted at movement in the January transfer window.

“You look at the performances, I don’t know how many teams are playing at this level in the league,” he said.

“When you look at the bench, probably you say I think we are very short.”

Arsenal will contest that they scored a late winner when Mikel Merino’s volley bounced down and in via a deflection off the arm of Havertz, but they have only themselves to blame for allowing two precious points to slip through their fingers.

“The scoreline is nowhere near a reflection (of the game),” Arteta told reporters.

“I’m not happy, I think the difference between the teams was very obvious.”

On the disallowed goal that left him on his knees on the touchline, he added: “The decision is made. It’s difficult because we have so much emotion, the celebration and it’s taken away from you. Not easy.”

Meanwhile, his opposite number Unai Emery hailed his side’s reaction to going 2-0 down.

He said: “Brilliant how the players reacted after the two goals – it was fantastic. In our mentality, we never give up and today we never gave up and we tried to score.

“Arsenal were pushing and creating some chances, but even with that we have another.

“Arsenal are very powerful at home. This is the level we want to be close to, but we still have work to do as they’re very strong.

“To compete like we did is the only way to get something here.” REUTERS