Arsenal's Premier League title charge took a huge nosedive after defender William Saliba picked up a lower back injury a little over six weeks ago.
The Gunners were sitting pretty at the top of the table, five points clear of second-placed Manchester City with the same number of games played. Mikel Arteta's side then picked up just nine points from a possible 18 in the six games without Saliba, conceding a whopping 13 goals in the process as their title charge appeared to collapse in the absence of the Frenchman.
This all came shortly after Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag bizarrely claimed that the north Londoners, who are now just two points ahead of City having played twice more than their title rivals, were lucky with injuries. "Only in one game could I say, ok I can pick my team, also from a tactical approach, that was perfect," the Dutchman said the day before Saliba was forced off against Sporting CP due to injury.
