Arsenal may have won the Premier League last season on the back of the best backline in the division, but they could be forced to start their title defence without one of their most important players. This week, we look at just how much William Saliba’s injury absence could affect the Gunners.
We also look at a goalkeeper who made League Cup history at the weekend, take a trip back to one of Manchester United’s greatest nights for this week’s Missing Players quiz, and analyse whether winning the Community Shield is actually a good omen for the season ahead.
Let’s get into it.
😲 STAT: Saliba to Sit Out?
It’s no secret that the bedrock of Arsenal’s title-winning season in 2025-26 was their defence. It’s worrying news for them, then, that one half of their first-choice centre-back duo is reportedly set to miss some time at the start of the new campaign.
Mikel Arteta recently confirmed that William Saliba is currently in ‘rest mode’, after it was reported that the France international was carrying a back injury during the World Cup.
“For two weeks he had to do almost nothing, don’t aggravate the injury. It’s going to take some time to heal, we know that,” the Arsenal boss said.
The club released a statement a few weeks ago confirming that Saliba would begin rehabilitation on his injury, and that he was “expected to be out of action for an extended period.”
That would be a big blow to the champions. Since his debut in August 2022, Arsenal have won 68.7% of matches in which Saliba has featured, compared with 47.6% without him. Similarly, their points-per-game average drops from 2.3 with him to 1.8 without him.