Mikel Arteta hopeful William Saliba will be fit in time for Man City clash

By Philip Duncan, PA

William Saliba has handed Arsenal a rare injury boost after manager Mikel Arteta confirmed the defender is set to be available to face Manchester City on February 2.

Saliba was sorely missed as the Gunners could take only a point against Aston Villa after Arteta’s players surrendered a two-goal lead at the Emirates on Saturday – a result which leaves them six points behind Liverpool having played one game more than Arne Slot’s table-toppers.

Arteta indicated he could be without Saliba – so crucial to Arsenal’s resurgence in recent years – for a sustained period after revealing he was “very worried” about the Frenchman’s condition.

But, while he conceded that Saliba will not be available for Arsenal’s penultimate Champions League group match against Dinamo Zagreb on Wednesday, Arteta said he expects him to be fit for their crucial Premier League home clash against City in 12 days time.

Asked if he was confident Saliba would be available for the visit of Pep Guardiola’s side, Arteta replied: “Yes, I hope so.

“He is evolving well and the last few days he has been feeling much better but this game comes a little bit too early for him.”

In a further boost to Arteta, who bemoaned being forced to name three untested academy players on the bench last weekend such is the club’s injury problems, Ethan Nwaneri and Riccardo Calafiori will both return to his squad for the visit of Zagreb.

Nwaneri, 17, has been absent since he opened the scoring in Arsenal’s 1-1 draw at Brighton on January 5, while Calafiori has also been unavailable since the fixture at the Amex Stadium.

“It is very positive news,” added Arteta. “We have missed them for a few weeks but they have returned to training and they will be available for the game.

“It was a big setback (for Nwaneri) because he was getting some consistency, more minutes, we made him play in a different position, he was doing really well and suddenly this happens.

“It is understandable when the load goes through the roof immediately and that is something we have to manage.”

Bukayo Saka was seen walking without his crutches prior to Arsenal’s game against Villa but Arteta does not believe his star winger will be back before his expected March return.

“No, that is not going to change,” he said. “He is doing really well and he is feeling better day-by-day, but we have to respect the healing process and he obviously still has a lot of stages to go through in his rehab.”

A victory against Dinamo Zagreb, now managed by Italy’s World Cup-winning captain Fabio Cannavaro, on Wednesday will put the Gunners in a commanding position to claim a top-eight finish, allowing them to avoid a two-legged knockout stage before progressing to the round of 16.

The Gunners are third in the table, having won four, drawn one and lost one of their matches so far.

The Spaniard concluded: “We have done really well. We are in a strong position and it is time to capitalise at home with the work we have done for many months.

“We need a strong performance against a really good side and we will try to do that. We are ready.”