The SEVEN games William Saliba is set to miss as Arteta reshuffle looms

Arsenal have received a very unwelcome update on the ankle injury William Saliba suffered at Anfield – and with the defender potentially missing their next seven games, we have examined how Mikel Arteta plans to cope with the loss of his influential Frenchman.

Saliba has established himself as one of the most stylish and composed defenders in world football, with many crediting his partnership alongside Gabriel Magalhaes as the meanest around. Indeed, their roles in the heart of defence is seen as one of the more influential factors of Arsenal‘s rise to regular title challengers.

However, when Saliba turned his ankle at Anfield and was forced off the field after just five minutes of their 1-0 defeat last time out, Gunners fans will have been left sweating on a lengthy absence for their star.

And while the news could have been a lot worse, leading French outlet L’Equipe has revealed Saliba can expect to be sidelined for the next three to four weeks – meaning the 24-year-old Frenchman will miss up to seven matches for the Gunners.

And having missed the current international break, their update claims Saliba is also ‘unlikely’ to be back for France’s October fixtures, with games against Azerbaijan (October 10) and Iceland (October 13) on the horizon.

However, the loss of Saliba will hurt Arsenal harder, and the defender now looks set to miss as many as seven of the Gunners’ next games.

These are:

-Nottingham Forest (h) – Premier League, September 13

-Athletic Bilbao (a) – Champions League, September 16

– Manchester City (h) – Premier League, September 21

-Port Vale (a) – Carabao Cup third round, September 24

-Newcastle (a) – Premier League, September 28

-Olympiacos (h) – Champions League, October 1

-West Ham (h) – Premier League, October 4.

And if he does miss all those games, Arsenal fans may not be able to see their star defender back in action until their match at Fulham on October 18.

In the meantime, Arteta will be forced into something of a defensive reshuffle, though, thankfully, Arsenal are well equipped to handle such a situation…

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How Arsenal can cover William Saliba absence

With the Gunners forced to withdraw Saliba early at Anfield, Arteta immediately turned to Cristian Mosquera off the bench, and the summer signing from Valencia performed well on only his second appearance for the club.

Indeed, the Spanish defender will be a very firm option to partner Gabriel in the heart of the defence once again when they return to Premier League action at 12.30 on Saturday against Nuno Espirito Santo’s Nottingham Forest.

Alternatively, Arteta could opt to give another summer signing, Piero Hincapie, his Arsenal debut. Signed on an initial loan from Bayer Leverkusen on deadline day, the Gunners have pulled off a real coup by landing the Ecuadorian.

However, given he will be in action for his country in the early hours of Wednesday morning when they play Argentina in a World Cup qualifier, that would seem somewhat unlikely.

The 23-year-old could come into the reckoning, though, for the trip to Bilbao to face Athletic Club in the UCL next Tuesday.

Other options could be to move full-backs into the centre of defence, with both Riccardo Calafiori and Jurrien Timber both equipped to play at centre-half if required.

Should Timber, who has started the season impressively, move inside, Arteta can cover by picking Ben White at right-back, with the 27-year-old expected to make his return from injury ahead of the weekend.

Should Italian Calafiori start alongside Gabriel, then Arsenal know they can count on Myles Lewis-Skelly to do a brilliant job at left-back.

Either way, Arteta is blessed with some really fine options.

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Meanwhile, Arsenal are keen on signing a top international midfielder who turned down the chance to join Manchester United in the summer transfer window, according to a report, as his comments on his future will come as a huge encouragement to Arteta and sporting director Andrea Berta.

Elsewhere, iconic star Kylian Mbappe has given his verdict on whether or not Arsenal would win the Premier League title this season.

And finally, Real Madrid have set a price for Rodrygo, who was the subject of strong interest from Arsenal in the summer transfer window.

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