Mikel Arteta says Arsenal will play Manchester City without William Saliba

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has revealed William Saliba is yet to make any significant improvement from his injury ahead of the game against Manchester City.

The Gunners travel to the Etihad Stadium for a crucial game that could decide their chances of winning the 2022/23 Premier League title.

Arsenal have failed to keep a clean sheet since Saliba picked up his injury with Arteta’s side conceding seven goals in their last three matches against Liverpool, West Ham United and Southampton – something that has been a worry for the fans ahead of facing City.

Those fears may continue following the latest update from the Spaniard on the Frenchman’s injury.

“There’s not been a real improvement unfortunately on him. So we are still waiting. We are still hopeful but obviously it is another week that has gone by and he hasn’t been able to train with the team,” he said at the presser.

There are concerns that Saliba will miss the rest of the season as the Gunners strive to end their nearly 20-year wait for a Premier League title. When asked about his injury, Arteta remained tight-lipped and refused to say when the Frenchman would be able to return to the team.

“I’ll leave that to the doctors to explain if they have to explain. At the moment, we don’t have him. We are preparing for this game without him and next game [against Chelsea] obviously probably is going to come too close as well so we have to go week-by-week at the moment.”

Arsenal will need to beat City if they are to stand a better chance of winning the league title this season.