In Arsenal’s Premier League match against Crystal Palace, William Saliba was substituted at half-time and was replaced by Cristian Mosquera. The reasons behind Mikel Arteta’s tactical change remain a mystery for now, causing fresh injury concerns within Arsenal’s squad. The Gunners entered Sunday afternoon’s game without several key players.
Martin Odegaard and Kai Havertz are absent as they recover from knee injuries, while Noni Madueke and Gabriel Jesus are also absent due to long-term injuries. Eberechi Eze, who replaced the captain, had given the hosts the lead by scoring his first league goal against his former club.
Liverpool had lost 3-2 to Brentford on Saturday, so the Gunners had a golden chance to extend their lead at the top of the table. At the same time as the match between Arsenal and Palace, Manchester City lost a goal away to Aston Villa.
Saliba’s defensive partner Gabriel was in doubt for the London derby due to injury. Mikel Arteta claimed the Brazilian missed training after picking up a bruise in midweek’s game against Atletico Madrid.
Neither he nor Bukayo Saka appeared in the training photos released by the club, but both were in the starting XI against Palace.
Arteta would have feared the worst when his second goal was canceled out for a corner after Gabriel crashed into the post and was injured.
Fortunately, he was able to play without leaving Arsenal without their first-choice centre-back for the remaining 25 minutes of the match against Palace.
The Spanish manager gave Mosquera the chance to perform again in place of Saliba early in the season when he was injured against Liverpool, giving him some of his place at the back of the table.
However, Ben White and Piero Hincapie are also at their disposal, and full-backs Riccardo Calafioli and Julian Timber are also capable of covering central areas.
That would allow players like White and Miles Lewis-Skelly to return to the team.
Arsenal’s next match is on Wednesday, when Brighton travel to the Emirates in the Carabao Cup.
